Patricia "Pat" Wilma LeGrand

2021, Thousand Oaks California. Born into VERY humble means, St. Louis MO 1932,

she was 88yrs. She was the 9th of 11 children, born to Franklin Joseph

Fitzenrieder, and Esther Ann True. She was proceeded in death by all but one of

her siblings, Berkley being the remaining family survivor. Mom told us many

stories of her humble roots in St Louis. Grampa Fitzenrieder hunting deer to put

food on the table, worked as a bus driver near the original Budweiser Brewery in

St Louis. The Fitzenrieders lived on Montana Street, St Louis (Uncle Berk still

does!), and worked hard to survive and provide for a large family. My favorite

stories are of Budweiser opening their spigots, and beer flowing freely in the

streets when WW2 came to an end. Of how she only went as far as 8th grade in

school, before she quit to help the family scrape a living out of a hard

scrabble life on Montana Street. Her first 'job' was hauling and storing heating

coal to neighbors, with her little red wagon, for a few nickles each. She may

have only finished 8th grade, but she was truly one of the SMARTEST, strongest,

and WISEST Souls I've ever met, far ahead of her time and peers. My favorite

story was when she was sent as a child to fetch her Dad a pail of beer from the

neighboring brewery, and would suck the foam off the top on her way home! Until

one day her Dad complained that there was no foam head on his beer... which put

a stop to that! She also became an excellent 'butcher' of meat, because her Mom

would send her to the Butcher Shop for cuts of meat, again pulling her little

red wagon down the street. She would bring them home in her fully laden little

red wagon. If the cuts were not 'up to snuff' with her Mom, she was sent back

pulling that heavy wagon again, to get better cuts of meat! She learned very

quickly to pick out the best cuts of meat, so she only had to make one trip back

and forth! Lots of stories regaled of her brothers rough and tumble coming of

age in old, poor, St Louis. She met her future husband Jerry LeGrand (also of St

Louis) thru a 'double date' with her childhood best friend Delores. Delores was

an only child and considered rich and privileged, not having to share anything

(food, clothing, or even a bed!), or wear hand-me-downs. Delores' date was Dad,

but quickly became Mom's love interest. They were married right after Mom's 18th

birthday in 1950. Dad had an electronics shop for a few years, but the young

family, with now baby daughter Debbie in tow, moved to California, where the

lived in Venice and Santa Monica, where their son Michael was born. Eventually,

GOOD jobs in the Aerospace Industry became available during the Moonshot years,

and NASA's golden era. Mom worked first for Teledyne, then Northrop-Grumman. The

young LeGrand family purchased their forever home in Thousand Oaks near Los

Robles, and layed down permanent roots on Dunn Ct. Mom and Dad used to like

weekend jaunts to Las Vegas, where Mom could indulge in her passion for watching

Horse Racing (I don't know how I'll ever watch horse racing or the Derby again,

without you, Mom! After retiring from Northrop, she was not content to stay

home, and had a 2nd career working for City of Thousand Oaks in Micrographics,

for many years, where she met her beloved Debbie Hodge, who became her best

friend and our family. Always restless, Mom also worked for a few of the new

Broadway department store in the newly built Oaks Mall. Perhaps her most

beloved job was 'crossing the kids' at Meadows Elementary School Crossing Guard,

raising a few generations of kids she stayed in touch with, and impacted, for

several years (as we never gave her grandchildren). We heard from a few, upon

posting her obituary on Facebook!

I will miss you Mom, on the first Sat in May, MOST of all! I hope you'll still

watch with me, and show me around the stables, when I get there! Have a safe

ride, and a safe trip across the finish line, Mom. You will ride with me, with

us, forever!).

Mom will have a private funeral and interment with Dad, in Thousand Oaks, on April 6th, at Pierce Bros off of Lindero Canyon Rd. We ask you toast Mom with a frothy head of beer, a glass of champagne, or an apple martini in her memory. Until we meet again, Mom and Dad, God speed!