Patricia Jean Niemeier

Patricia Mandiloff Bryan Niemeier was born September 18, 1930 in Bingham Canyon, UT to Vasil and Edith Mandiloff. When she was six months old she and her mother moved to Idaho while her father was employed working on the Hoover Dam in NV. A few months later the family moved to Colorado, Pat started school in Fredrick, CO; four years later the family moved to Leyden CO where her father worked in the coal mine and a couple years later bought the tiny general store. Pat and her brother attended a two room grade school but rode the interurban street car to Arvada for her four years of high school.

After graduating, Patricia worked at the Daniels and Fishers department store, then the U.S. National Bank of Denver. She journeyed to Washington D.C. in 1951 where she worked as a clerk typist for the Department of the Navy. This is where she met her husband, James E. Bryan. They were married December 18, 1953 and ten years later their daughter, Jennifer, was born. Pat stayed with the Department of the Navy for 35 years and finished her career as a Technical Data Manager.

After Jim passed away, Pat received a phone call from her widowed high school sweetheart, Harold Niemeier; eight months later they were married at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in College Park MD. They split their time between Colorado and Maryland until Parkinson’s and Dementia had taken its toll and she was brought to Michigan where her sister could help with her care.

Pat’s interests and hobbies were many and varied, although her first love was the piano and reading. She was a trained commercial artist; a collector of many things, she sewed; did wood working, made and furnished doll houses. Pat’s community services were as varied as her hobbies. She was a volunteer at Doctors Community Hospital, accumulating thousands of hours of service over 26 years. She was a Campfire Girl’s leader; was very active in the Berwyn Heights Parks and Recreation Council and the County Homemakers. She was on the board of the National Quilters Association and worked with HIV/AIDS education. Pat attended St. Andrews Episcopal Church, where she taught Sunday School; served on the Vestry and managed the church thrift store for many years. She was also a dedicated member of the Daughters of the King. She loved to travel, visiting many U.S. sites as well as England, Wales, Scotland and Germany.

Patricia died August 23, 2018 in Okemos, MI where she resided at Brookdale Memory Care Center. She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents. She is survived by her husband, Harold; one daughter, Jennifer Marie; a granddaughter, Kiri Bryan-Siehl; a brother, Dean Mandiloff (Dorothy also deceased); a sister, Carol Richard (Kenny); four nieces; 13 great nieces and nephews. Pat’s kindness, her dry wit and passion for anything that came her way will be missed by numerous friends more like family than can be listed.

A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, August 31 at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Avenue, East Lansing, MI. The family will receive friends at 10:30 before the service at the funeral home. After the service in Michigan, Pat will be buried with her first husband, Jim, next to her parents and in the shadow of her beloved Rocky Mountains in Boulder, CO. A memorial service will be held in Aurora, Colorado later this fall.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 4512 College Avenue, College Park, MD 20740.

The family is being served by Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Lansing Chapel.

Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.greastlansing.com.