Patsy Jo Ulrich-Gherardini

She was proceeded in death by her previous husband, Daniel Ulrich, her parents, and her daughter, Crystal Velasquez, as well as her sisters Lydia, Lois, and Dorothy.

She is survived by her children Jason E. Paul, Artesia L. Runge, Helana J. Rosales, and Robert O.K. Ulrich and stepson Christopher M. Gherardini and by her loving husband Michael A. Gherardini.

She loved our Lord Jesus and wanted everyone to know of His saving grace. She had a calling to live a life of service. She was a Sunday School teacher, and youth leader, served in many homeless ministries and world relief ministries and she served as the President of the Board of the North Phoenix Compassion Center.

She also had many other jobs in her life: a server at Shamrock Foods, a lumberjack, a dive and salvage/insurance recovery agent, a clerk for the State of Arizona, an accounts receivable clerk for Handy Company, a cook at Martin Luther School, an accounting and payroll clerk at American One Stop Insurance and a firefighter for the Mescal-J6 Fire District in southern Arizona where she suffered an on-duty disabling injury.

She was a proud mother of and stepmother, a great-wife and a grandmother of 15, and recently a great-grandmother of 3.

In 2006 she suffered a silent heart attack that she recovered from and was able to continue as a firefighter.

In 2010 she was injured and had to resign as a firefighter. In 2018, she was diagnosed with heart failure. That same year, she suffered a stroke that furthered her weakness and affected her speech. In 2021, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and with stage 4 kidney failure that damaged her heart further. In 2022 she was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure that caused her to have 8 cardiac arrests in a 24-hour period that ultimately ended her life.

She was a fighter until the end. She made her family proud.