Patricia Elaine “Pat” Zaleha, loving wife of Rick Cornell, passed away March 4, 2018 at her home in Cary, North Carolina after a brief battle with cancer. 59 years old, she was born in Sarahsville, Ohio, the daughter of Andy and Lela Mae Zaleha.
Pat grew up in Sarahsville and was valedictorian in her graduating class in 1976. While at school she played in the band, was a cheer leader played several sports and starred in her senior play as Anne Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker”. Upon graduation she began a full life that presented her with opportunities to travel to various destinations worldwide. Pat also obtained a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and spent her career in that discipline.
Pat and Rick met while working at American Express’ Phoenix, Arizona office in 1994. A strong friendship preceded 20 years of a loving marriage. They spent the majority of the time together enjoying each other’s company and mutual interests. She had a passion for dancing and was a member of the Cary Cross Trailers Square and Round Dance club. Pat enjoyed the outdoors and for many years cultivated and maintained her own backyard vegetable garden. While at the lake house in western New York where they planned to spend their retirement years, Pat was often seen riding her bike and going on casual strolls along the lake with Rick. That home was a pride and joy of theirs, having worked together closely to design and monitor its construction themselves where Pat could be seen rocking gently on the front porch watching the sunset. She enjoyed their many weekend outings and vacations, concerts in the park and hitting local spots of interest at some of her “I want to” destinations.
Pat was a wonderful wife, sister, step mother and helper, with a sense of humor shared with the closest of family members. Her reputation for intolerance of the cold was renown and in her younger years had been observed eating ice cream, in front of a heater while wearing a winter jacket! A bit of a competitor she enjoyed Euchre, Canasta and beating Rick at Skip-Bo. In fact, one time while playing Rick in a game of tennis, she attempted to “slam” the ball at him for a winning point. Instead she mis-hit the ball and sprained her thumb!
Pat is survived by her husband of 20 years Rick Cornell, step daughter Jennifer Bent (Caleb), sister Cheryl Hughes (Mike), sister Grace Bates (John), parents Andy and Lela Mae Zaleha, nieces Heather, Mandy, Holly, and Ashley Hughes, nephews Zachary (Aerica), Justin (Holly) and Eric Bates.
Honoring Pat’s wishes, she will be cremated and a memorial service will be held 1 pm, Sunday, March 11th. The service will be held at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 200 SE Maynard Rd, Cary, NC 27511.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the American Cancer Society.
