Patricia Pat Mary Carroll Marrow

Patricia (Pat) Mary Marrow passed away on February 18th of natural causes in Redwood City, CA. She was 79 years old.

Pat was blessed with many close friends and an extended family who loved her dearly. She was a wonderful wife, mother and grandmother, a caring sister and a devoted friend and community member.

Pat was born in Bristol, England on October 4th, 1931 and grew up in her family home with her mother, father, two sisters and a brother in the midst of WWII. She was 9 years old when Germany began bombing England during WWII. She spent her early adolescence in the midst of rationing and a constant state of war including heavy bombing in Bristol. Most people would be terrified by living under these conditions. Pat, in her usual good humor, said that it was actually exciting and that she and her young girlfriends would play chicken to see who was the last to enter the bomb shelters during bombing raids.

Pat finished school after the war and in 1950 at the young age of 19, boarded a freighter bound for America to visit a pen pal from Seattle she had made during her school years. She had planned on staying for 3 months but ended up not returning to England for over a decade. Pat’s American pen pal took her on a trip to Key West, Florida, to visit the pen pal’s brother who was in the Navy. In Key West, Patricia met Bob Marrow, a Navy buddy of her friend’s brother. Bob and Pat were married 3 months later.

Shortly thereafter they moved to Washington DC for Bob’s school and Dave, the first of their 5 sons, was born the following year. Bob and Pat would have 4 of their 5 sons while Bob finished his engineering college degree. Pat looked upon this time of her life with great fondness even though, as she would say, they were “poor as dirt.” Following Bob’s graduation, the family moved to Cupertino, California. Being from England, Pat loved the Mediterranean climate of the Bay area.

In 1966, the family moved to the Space Coast of Florida. This was another of the great sacrifices Pat made for her family. She loved the climate in the Bay area but, gave it up for the sweltering climate in Florida because along with Bob, they felt that the Space Coast of Florida was a great place to raise their sons. In 1973 with 3 of their 5 sons out of high school or nearly so, the family moved back to the Bay Area of California where Pat has lived ever since. Bob and Pat had 46 happy years together before his passing in 1997.

Raising 5 sons was more than a full time job for Pat. For more than 30 years she had children living at home. In spite of the constant demands of motherhood, Pat managed to become an accomplished tennis player, an expert at solving crossword puzzles (which may have been helped by her ability to speak and read both French and Latin) and the chief organizer for family camping trips. She was a terrific chef, a wonderful seamstress, a knowledgeable tutor and most importantly, a shining example of a human being for her sons. Pat was always proud of raising 5 sons who all grew up to succeed in their individual endeavors and raise families of their own.

Pat was an active volunteer over many years with several organizations including San Jose Unified School District, the Los Gatos Community Hospital, the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop and worked extensively in helping with confirmation at her church.

Patricia is survived by 5 sons and their wives; Michael & Irene Marrow of Boca Raton, FL, David & Laureen Marrow of Taylor Lake Village, TX, Christopher & Lisa Marrow of Redwood City, CA, Steven & Diane Marrow of Savannah, GA and Robert & Colby Marrow of Lexington, KY. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild.

Patricia was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and volunteer throughout her life. She was a great woman who will be missed by all who knew her.