Patricia Gene Santini

Patricia Gene "Genie" Santini, daughter of Dr. Eugene Kern O'Meara and Patricia Holman O'Meara passed away August 4th 2015 at 72, in her sleep surrounded by her two sons, after a two-year long fight with cancer. Born in Pasadena on November 25th, 1942, she attended Watsonville High School, then Stephens College, and held a B.A. in Education and a teaching credential for San Jose State University. She taught second grade in the Monterey Peninsula School district for over ten years and taught in San Francisco prior to that. Ever an adventurer, Genie resided in St. Louis, Missouri; Geneva, Switzerland; San Andres, Columbia; Low Gap, California; and on Vashon Island in Washington state before settling in Pacific Grove in 1984. She lived in Pacific Grove for more than thirty years and was the granddaughter of W. R. Holman, founder and owner of the legendary Holman’s Department Store in Pacific Grove. She is survived by her husband Albert "Al" V. Santini, her sons Zachary Bernard Lazare and Benjamin Eugene Lazare and her grandchildren Tallulah Mei Lazare and Jack Holman Tor Lazare. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Peter O’Meara. She loved the outdoors and nature and was most at home when gardening, hiking, biking, and bird and whale watching. Her greatest joy was spending time with her grandchildren, both born in 2013, and for the last two years of her life they were close by and Genie was able to watch them grow from babies to toddlers. Genie brought happiness and kindness into every life she touched and was an active member of the Monterey Peninsula Quilters Guild until her health prevented her from participating. An avid reader, she was a Friend of the Pacific Grove Library as well as a member of the Tor House Foundation. She had beat cancer seven years ago, losing a lung to the disease, but never allowing it to slow her down. She and Al would go fishing in Canada yearly and she landed several thirty pound salmon while in remission. Genie overflowed with life and had a welcoming smile for everyone; her heart and spirit live on in her boys and her grandchildren. A celebration of her life will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Friends of the Pacific Grove Library (http://www.pglibraryfriends.org). To offer online condolences, please visit http://goo.gl/9WUb7H.