O'REILLY, Patricia (Pitko) Born July 9, 1948, Died May 4, 2024, Beloved wife, mom, grandma, sister, and friend, Patricia was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Helen Pitko and Edward William Pitko. Patricia married the love of her life, Daniel (Dan) Joseph O'Reilly, March 23, 1977. She is survived by children, son Ken O'Reilly (spouse Adele O'Reilly), son Danny O'Reilly and daughter Janine Angrisano (spouse Michael Angrisano), and her grandchildren, Stephanie Jo O'Reilly (spouse Sung Jo), Benjamin Reilly Angrisano, Joseph Patrick O'Reilly, Emily Anne Lindauer (spouse Ben Lindauer), and Kathryn Hope O'Reilly. She is also survived by sister Teddi Key, nephew Chief Msgt Jacob (spouse Lare) Bridges, Godson Jordyn Armstrong and 6 more great nieces and nephews. Not to be forgotten, her faithful companion and rescued pup, Puck O'Reilly.

From an early age, Patricia set her mind to excellence in all she pursued. She would graduate from Brunswick High School a year early in 1965 and go on to study abroad before eventually graduating Magna Cum Laude with Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hunter College, New York City in June, 1975. Patricia continued to make New York her home for the next decade as she and Dan married.

They initially lived in Queens and eventually made the move to Long Island. In addition to a very successful career as a benefits consultant expertly advising countless corporate clients she was honored to serve as President of NHP Chapter of Homemakers Council of Nassau County for years. Patricia's passion for all things home economics and crafting married well with her administrative and leadership skills during this most fulfilling season.

Patricia and Dan would soon discover the warm climate and wide-open spaces that Texas offered as they made their way there for her father's funeral. They set their sights on a big move to Dallas in 1986 where Patricia would thrive professionally at KPMG Peat Marwick for years before her final professional post with Watson Wyatt Worldwide, retiring a most accomplished benefits consultant and frequent flyer, having traveled to all points coast to coast for client presentations. During this new, slower season Patricia welcomed more time for special family meals with the whole family and had such pride as she attended many performances and events for her grandchildren.

Patricia was truly thrilled to enjoy retirement and began spending her time planning and enjoying explorations and travel adventures with Dan to locations all over the world. Additionally, Patricia would soon discover a new passion to explore and excel in, Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Ikebana would soon fill her days and nights and bring her rich community and meaningful purpose for many years to come. Surprising nobody who knew and loved her, Patricia would begin her studies and grow in this art to the point of providing instruction as an admired Sogetsu sensei and ultimately leading in her local and wider circles. Here is a sampling of the events and roles that she dedicated herself to as she imparted her high standard of excellence and devotion to meet the needs of these three organizations she came to love: Ikebana International Dallas Chapter #13, Ikebana International Fort Worth Chapter #38 and Sogetsu Dallas Branch.

As an Ikebana International North & Central American Region (NCAR) Advocate, Patricia led the western chapters (spanning from Dallas to Denver, Washington to Hawaii) with exceptional energy, experience, and talent and she made it a point to visit nearly all of her area chapters in the West. Patricia spearheaded the creation of the Chapter Reference Manual, now known as Ike·Wiki, which has evolved into a highly valued resource for both NCAR Board and chapter members. This ambitious project, which took well over a year to complete, was made possible with significant contributions from the extensive network of friends she cultivated while advocating for the western chapters.

Prior to becoming an NCAR Advocate Patricia was very active in Ikebana International chapters and also her chosen school of ikebana, Sogetsu. Here are the roles she served in for Ikebana International North & Central American Region: President I.I. Dallas #13, 2011 – 2013; "Coordinator" of I.I. Dallas #13 "President-of-the-Month," 2010 –2011; Member of I.I. #13 Board in numerous capacities, including Recording Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster and Social Media Coordinator, Membership, Ways & Means, and many committee positions (Newsletter, Publicity, Publications); Chair of Dallas #13 Kiku Matsuri 2014 and 2017; Special Exhibition Chair and Sogetsu Dallas Program Chair 2022-2024, as well as past Sogetsu Branch Director; Attended chapter events in Denver, Boston, Houston, Philadelphia, San Jose, San Diego, Sun Cities, among others.

As a lover of travel, Ikebana International Conferences would provide fabulous destinations for Patricia to explore:

• Chair of 18th NCARC in Dallas

• Attended 17th NCARC in Asheville in 2014

• Attended 16th NCARC in Monterey Bay

• Attended European Regional Conference in Bruges in 2018

• Attended Asian Regional Conference in Taiwan in 2018

• Chapter Delegate to I.I. World Convention (Tokyo, 2012; Okinawa, 2017)

Patricia is preceded in death by her Husband, Dan O'Reilly and parents, Helen Veniski, John Veniski and Ed Pitko.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be considered to the Ikebana Iwaya fund in her honor.