I was traveling when I received the sad news and am grateful to Toma in Poland for sharing this beautiful tribute to a very special person and early collaborator in the Famvin project. I can only echo his post and its conclusion… “Patricia! We will miss you!”

“It is the first time in the history of Polish edition of Famvin.org news site when a post is bilingual. This is because Patricia, you were so close to our editorial hearts. When death message of a sibling, relative, friend, coworker comes automatically our face gets astonished, surprised and show disbelief. How so? Why? It’s impossible! Such news reached us in the night on Monday. It read, that Patricia Ann Tryon, wife, mother, friend died suddenly in her sleep on Saturday night, April 14.”

“Some of the readers of this service can wonder why do we remember a person whom most of them did not know, and most probably, have never met in their lives. I did. And I’m grateful, I had opportunity to meet her on my pathway, when Famvin.org publications started to speak Polish. She was devoted to Passionist spirituality for a long time. But for many years she was involved in the Vincentian traditon as well being a teammate of Famvin.org, where she did a lot developing and managingVincentWiki – Vincentian Encyclopedia project. She backed WincentyWiki – Encyklopedia Wincentyńska when it started to grow at the beginning of 2008. And she supported the project when Famvin Polska news site was established in October 2008. Always, she was helpful, opened and supporting, even though she didn’t know a word in Polish.”

“To help us build the audience she reedited and made a Polish language version of her video „St. Catherine Labouré and the Miraculous Medal – Grace Notes” [Polish version] and „Vincentian Wisdom – A Reflection at Christmas” [Polish version]. As mentioned, it was a challenge for her to produce a video with texts in a language where she didn’t know a word.”

“She never visited Poland and envied Chuck, her beloved husband, that he spent some time in Krakow and Southern Poland doing his business. When she lived in London, she often said how much she would be eager to walk John Paul II steps in Krakow. Poland took an important place in heart as much as she has been in our hearts. Even when she finished collaboration with the Vincentian Family in 2009 because of her other commitments and projects she continued to support growth of both Famvin.org Polish projects. She followed other Polish Vincentian websites regularly.”

“She was raised in a protestant preacher’s family under a backdrop of forests and lakes in Oregon. She recalled that whenever she spoke of modesty, expenditures, unnecessary shopping, etc. She and her husband Chuck, married more than 30 years, spent their last years on plain foothills of Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The personality and teachings of Pope John Paul II led her and her family to Catholic Church. Her only daughter Alys, was a center of her thoughts and feelings. Whenever she talked about her, it was so obvious how much she loved her, worried about her, cared, how much she wanted to be with her in her successes and failures. At the age of 57, when most of us do not even think about school, very determined, she graduated from Marylhurst University with B.A. in interdisciplinary sciences. It was so encouraging seeing her joy and enthusiasm when she got her diploma.”

She was web developer and web administrator, blogger. The family of her photoblogs was growing and growing. You may reach them from the links below. She loved taking beautiful shots of flowers, birds, nature which later shared in her blogs. Let’s believe she would take the place where she has been called into great collection of frames and images. She will capture our lives from above.

Fr. Victor Hoagland, C.P., her long time friend and coworker paid her this beautiful tribute in his blog: Vhoagland.wordpress.com Once, she said about her relation with Fr. Victor: „when I turned 54, he has just turned 78. He could be my father”.

Patricia! We will miss you! We will miss your care,
your smile, your commitment and friendship.
Stay in peace and may the Angels lead you to paradise.

Visit Patricia’s blogs and websites:
PatriciaTryon.com – blissfully unique art
Picturing Plants – botanical blog
Picturing Birds – ornithological blog
Picturing Angels – Angels in pictures
Out of the Frying Pan (Typepad.com),
Out of the Frying Pan (Blogspot.com)- personal blog
The Passionist Compassion
Bread on the Water

[pictures: courtesy of Tryon family]