Patricia LaCrosse

She was born on January 18, 1936, in Montreal, Canada, to William Crawford Johnstone of Glasgow, Scotland, and Edna May Pierce of London, England. The Johnstone family moved to the United States in April 1945 and became U.S. citizens in 1951. Mrs. LaCrosse was always proud of her multinational heritage—Canadian, English, and Scottish.

Raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, she graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon in 1953 and from the University of Michigan in 1957 with honors in economics. At Michigan, she was active in the Michigan Choral Union and a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. The LaCrosse family spent many joyful summers at Camp Michigania on Walloon Lake in Northern Michigan.

After college, she worked on Wall Street at the Bank of New York as an investment counselor, where she met Jim LaCrosse. They married in 1959. That fall, she moved to Boston and worked at Scudder, Stevens & Clark as an investment counselor while her husband attended Harvard Business School.

Following several moves—to Louisville, KY; Detroit, MI; and Wilton, CT—the LaCrosse family settled in Indianapolis in 1967 with their four children: John, Karen, Catherine, and Stephen, along with several beloved dogs.

Patricia quickly became active in the Indianapolis community. She joined the First Congregational Church, where she sang in the choir for thirty years. She was a dedicated member of the League of Women Voters and the Women’s Committee of the Indianapolis Symphony. She also participated in “Ardath’s Army,” which raised over $300,000 to support WFYI.

Her primary focus in the nonprofit world was with Newfields (formerly the Indianapolis Museum of Art), where she served as a docent for 40 years and as a member of the board. She spearheaded the Second Century Society (SCS), bringing in many new members and raising significant funds. In 2020, she was honored with Newfields’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Indianapolis Opera’s Taurel Woman of the Arts Award.

Choral music and visual art were lifelong passions, along with her deep love of opera and travel. She explored much of the world and the United States and established “Camp Nana” to introduce her children and grandchildren to the joys of culture and learning.

She is survived by her husband, Jim, and her children: John, Karen, Catherine, and Stephen. Grandchildren: Skye, Cameron and Grace, Sierra and Forrest, Talli and Mariano, Carter, Thea, Ian and Shawna, William, and Elizabeth; and her great-granddaughter, Mila. She is also survived by her sister, Sandra.

She was deeply saddened by the loss of her daughter-in-law, Demetra Rabiecki LaCrosse.

A celebration of life will take place at Newfields Art Museum on September 7, 2025 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Newfields Art Museum.