Patricia Aileen Manning

Patricia Aileen Ellis Manning went to be with her beloved husband Jim on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. At 91 years old, she passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family. Born in Detroit, Michigan, on June 30, 1934, Pat was the youngest of 6 children. Patsy, as she was affectionately known, grew up in the care of many others while her mother battled cancer. She was shuffled to live with family members in Detroit and Lansing. She returned to Detroit and her parish school at Gesu. She briefly attended Immaculata High School until her mother passed away when she was 14, and she was moved to Saint Mary Academy in Monroe, Michigan, where she graduated in 1952. She was proud to attend and graduate from Marygrove College in Detroit, Michigan, in 1956, before beginning a brief teaching career. She married James D. Manning Jr. on June 28th, 1958, and together they welcomed 7 children into the world. Her sister reflected that she was pregnant from the Eisenhower to the Nixon administrations. She helped him raise a family and build a business, all while teaching her children what was important in life: to nurture a strong marriage centered on a loving God, and from there, an amazing family would grow! And that it did, 7 children, a band of “outlaws”, 20 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren who will miss her deeply. She always led by example and taught that what gives meaning and richness to life is the love of family and friends.

Beginning in Utica, Michigan, she created a loving environment for her husband Jim and was very supportive of his demanding business endeavors, doing double time as an employee during the lean years, while balancing the household budget and doing without for herself to provide for her family. She believed in raising strong girls, as well as the boys, and set positive examples as a Girl Scout leader for her daughters. Moving to Rochester, Michigan, Pat was involved in cultivating their Catholic faith at St. Irenaeus, taking on roles as parish council president, extraordinary minister, catechism teacher, and leader of the youth group. She was on the run most every day from school drop-offs, coffee clutches, sporting activities, PTA meetings, doctor/dentist visits, and daily chores (that included mounds of laundry) and school pickup around the city. Pat was the ultimate “mother,” guiding her family through their life milestones, nurturing their mental and spiritual development as the family housekeeper, teacher, doctor, lawyer, caterer, fashion coordinator, decorator, psychiatrist, taxicab driver, and friend. She proudly displayed a bumper sticker on the family station wagon that read – “If a woman’s place is in the home, why am I always in the car?”

As she managed life’s wild ride, she cultivated many cherished friends as well. These meaningful relationships led to graduations, open houses, college visits, showers, weddings, grandbabies, sickness, and funerals. She was uprooted in the early 1980s when the family business was moved to Houston. While sad to leave behind her home and friends, she quickly acclimated, getting involved again at St. Martha’s Parish in Kingwood, TX. Her volunteer work continued, and in 1998, she earned the Woman of Achievement Award from Family Time Foundation for “Homemaker” of the Year through the Kingwood Women’s Club. She offered many hours to Feed My Lambs, HAAM, Mammogram Bus, Holiday Marketplace, Family Time at the Library, and many others. Pat did all of this while pursuing a real estate career in Kingwood.

Upon guiding her children through college (she insisted her daughters would further their education as well – college wasn’t just for the boys) and transitioning them out of the family nest, she and Jim traveled the globe with friends and family. They spent weekends in Conroe and enjoyed evening cocktail cruises on the lake. Took plane rides back to Michigan to visit grandkids and old friends, enjoying the fruits of their labor. For many years, she enjoyed the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons. Summers were for obsessing over Houston Astros wins and Detroit Tigers woes. An avid sports fan, we remember with a smile.

She picked up the torch again as a caregiver during Jim’s health battles, showing all the family what it means to give selflessly. As a widow, she continued as a busy grandmother, worrying about and guiding her grandchildren up to her final days.

Pat loved her St. Martha’s Pot Lucker’s Supper Club that began 30 years ago, as many new families moved into the Kingwood area. Over the years, great friendships were built, and as a community, they supported and prayed with each other as they encountered life’s challenges and triumphs. She held dear the established and new relationships. In addition, she was an avid reader, and when her health did not allow her to attend her regular book club meetings, the “Grandma’s Book Club” was created. This promoted in-depth discussion and interactions with her children and grandchildren via Zoom, furthering her love for education.

Pat was always up for a good party; she was game for anything. Her capacity for humor and fun was second to none. She was quick-witted and spoke her mind. Her children and grandchildren thank her for her generosity, understanding, patience, respect, kindness, friendship, and love.

Patricia was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, James D. Manning Jr., parents, Aileen (Scheider) and Don G. Ellis, Brothers Don William and John Goodwin Ellis, and sisters Georgiana, Sr. Shirley (Mary Gerald-IHM), and Lois Ellis. She is survived by her seven children and their families: Kathleen “Kitty” Manning-Adler, Sharon Manning Montemurri (Mike), Maureen Manning Montemurri (Steve), James Manning III., Brian Manning (Kristen), Kerry Manning (Lisa), and Julie Manning Crump (Gary). Twenty grandchildren include Katie Adler (Eric Straw), Shannon Adler Mercer (Marc), Collin (Stephanie) Adler, Lauren, Katharine and Celia Montemurri, Christopher and Meghan Montemurri, Brianna and Shelby Manning, Peyton, Paige and Parker Manning, Claire Manning Womble (Jacob), Audrey Manning, Tyler Crump (Alexis), Garrett, Joshua, Olivia, and Hayden Crump. Her great-grandchildren, Kennedy and Mackenzie Adler and Hudson, and Palmer Mercer. Patricia is also mourned by her nieces and nephews on both the Ellis and Manning sides.

A visitation will take place on Monday, October 20, 2025, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Kingwood Funeral Home, 22800 Highway 59 North, Kingwood, Texas 77339. A rosary will take place on the same night at 6:30 pm. The funeral mass will take place on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 2:00 pm at Saint Martha’s Catholic Church, Holy Family Chapel, 4301 Woodridge Parkway, Porter, Texas 77365. Patricia will then return to Detroit, Michigan, where she will be interred with her husband James at Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Martha's Kitchen, a ministry that prepares and serves hot, nutritious lunches to men, women, and children in Houston, c/o https://stmarthasknights.com/in-memory-of-pat-manning or the IHM Sisters (the order to which her sister Shirley belonged) at 610 W. Elm Avenue, Monroe, Michigan 48162. Website: https://ihmsisters.org/supporting-the-mission/giving-opportunities/donate/, Retirement Fund in honor of Patricia Ellis Manning.