Patricia Jean Bright

(8/18/1933 – 8/18/2024)

Patricia “Pat” Jean (McLaughlin) Bright, a long-time resident of Placentia, California, passed away peacefully at her home in Fullerton, California on August 19, 2024, having just turned 91 the day before.

Born on August 18, 1933 in Monessen Pennsylvania, she was the only surviving child of David and Helen McLaughlin. At about the age of 12, her father left the steel mills of Pennsylvania, in search of a better life for his family in California. He landed at Procter and Gamble, in Long Beach, and worked there until his retirement. Pat attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School and graduated in 1951. During that time as well as during church activities, she met and (eventually) fell in love with another local Long Beach resident, Don Bright. They were married on November 25, 1955.

Pat and Don had two children together, Debbie and Steve. Being a mom was one of Pat’s dreams, although we’re fairly sure that on some days, she questioned her judgement! She was a stay-at-home mom until both kids were in school, and she returned to nursing.

Pat always dreamed of being a nurse, which seemed fitting to someone that truly cared about others. She became a Registered Nurse after high school, graduating from the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in downtown Los Angeles. During her career, she worked in many aspects of nursing including the post-surgical ward, labor & delivery, the emergency room, and quality control/quality assurance towards the end of her career. Her favorite place to work was labor & delivery because most of the time, it was a happy place, and she loved welcoming in new members to a family. Pat worked in nursing into her seventies. She met her lifelong friend, Loretta, during her nursing career and Loretta was with her until the end.

Her career didn’t end with nursing as she joined the family business, Environmental Audit, Inc. for a number of years helping wherever there was need such as answering phones, xeroxing, running errands, organizing the mail, keeping the gossip going at the water cooler, going to lunch with her kids, or wherever else she felt needed. She enjoyed being a part of the organization and watching the business thrive.

Pat loved traveling and spending time with family and friends. After the kids grew up, she loved traveling with Don and they took numerous trips to Europe, Fiji, China, Hawaii, etc. She continued traveling after Don’s death (in 1994) and took trips to Australia and New York. Her favorite trip was the Hawaiian cruise that she took her entire family on, along with her best friend Loretta, for her 70th birthday.

Spending time with her grandkids was a special source of joy. She loved watching them play little league, do plays and musicals, going shopping, spending holidays and birthdays with them, or just talking to them on the phone. She was proud of her grandkids, both college graduates – Ann is an attorney and Dave is working in the financial field. One of her great joys was when she could watch Dave play football at both Mater Dei High School and Stanford.

Pat was also a sports enthusiast enjoying season tickets to the Rams, Angels, and USC Football during various times in her life. When daughter Debbie decided to go the USC, Pat and Don bought USC season football tickets and became true Trojan fans. Pat continued to go to all USC home football games until several years ago. Fight on, Mom!

Pat also devoted time to philanthropic causes, including the Fullerton Ebell Club which she was a member of for over 30 years. She held many positions of responsibility and enjoyed giving back to the community. She was involved with their fashion shows, high teas, Christmas tree events, and other events that the club did to raise money for its causes. She also continued meeting the ladies for card games until recently and maintained a number of decades old friendships within the group.

Pat moved into Oakmont, an assisted living facility, in March of 2021 and enjoyed another chapter of her life meeting a whole new group of friends. She moved in just after the facility opened and was one of its longest residents at the time of her passing. She took it on herself to become an unofficial “greeter,” meeting new people that moved in, making sure they knew the ropes, making sure they had a friend to enjoy a meal with, and having an open ear to listen to any issues or complaints. She also served on their resident’s council while she could. Her Oakmont friends are ones that our family truly treasure as they have helped her and us through some very difficult times, but where we have also shared some beautiful moments of happiness. We are forever grateful.

Over the course of the last 6-12 months, Pat suffered a series of seizures that slowly took some of her capabilities away from her, some physical and some mental. While she was aware of her surroundings, and often of her visitors, she had a hard time communicating and expressing herself. She had repeated seizures several days before her passing. We are thankful to the hospice and Oakmont staff that provided great care during this time.

Pat is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Debbie and Ed Stevens, her son and daughter-in-law Steve and Rose Bright, and two grandchildren Dave and Ann Bright, as well as many cousins and extended family. Pat was preceded in death by her husband Don, as well as her parents Helen and David McLaughlin. Pat has been cremated and her remains will be taken off the coast of Newport Beach, to join Don. A celebration of life will follow sometime in the near future when we can accept that our mom has passed. It’s so difficult to think that we will not see her again in this lifetime, although we know she is in good hands.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Dr. & Mrs. Donald B. Bright Environmental Biology Scholarship at Cal State Fullerton in honor of Pat:

Patricia Bright: https://give.fullerton.edu/bright

Since the passing of our father, we have provided scholarships to 32 different students and consider this a perfect legacy for our family and a beautiful way to honor our parents and grandparents.