Gloria Cecile Patterson

Gloria Cecile Patterson (Cooley) died on July 7, 2022. She was 93 years young. Lovingly known as “Harmonie” by her family, she is survived by her two sons Chip (Relford) and Errol and daughter Myrnae, twelve grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. To her beloved and cherished sister Myrnae’s two sons (Sterling and Kent) and daughter (Beverly) and their families, she was “Ti.” In addition to family members, Harmonie was often a “mom” to many who knew her, including friends, neighbors, co-workers, caregivers, repairmen and even the occasional random stranger. She had a magnetic personality and warm spirit, and it was simply part of her soul to patiently listen and be supportive of others.

Harmonie was the devoted matriarch of her family. Over several decades, Harmonie’s house in the Woodside Park neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD was the central hub for family gatherings throughout the year. Especially on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas Harmonie’s decorated house overflowed with lively conversation, music, laughter, Maker’s Mark manhattan cocktails, and the very best home cooking -- including a legendary gourmet chili recipe. Every Halloween she dressed in a black witch costume to the delight of generations of neighborhood children and was known as the benevolent “Halloween Witch” on Fairview Rd. Even as the years progressed, and the family spread out geographically Harmonie hosted “Sunday Dinner” every week for anyone that could attend. She relished these moments.

Gloria grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of Dalton Cooley and Mattie Brown. Dalton was the son of Jesse Cooley who lived on a Tennessee plantation. Mattie hailed from a close-knit family with deep roots in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Gloria attended Sumner High School and was identified early on as a music talent playing the piano. She traveled to and competed in national music competitions. Gloria was married for over 50 years to Relford (Pat or Pau) Patterson. The two met while both were attending Howard University in Washington, DC. After getting married, starting a family, and moving with her husband (who was an accomplished choir director, music composer and professor) to several historically black colleges and universities, she went on to complete her Bachelor of Arts degree in education at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Gloria was an exceptional elementary school teacher. Much of her professional career was spent teaching 4th-6th grade at Bethesda Elementary School. She was a member of Christ the King Catholic Church in Silver Spring, MD (CTK). At CTK, she was a hard-working member of the Social Concerns Committee. In addition, for many years she co-anchored the annual “Giving Tree” project at Christmas which provided support to dozens of families in financial need.

Gloria was also an avid sports fans and was glued to the TV whenever one of her favorite teams or athletes was competing, including the St. Louis Cardinals (baseball), Georgetown Hoyas (basketball) and Serena and Venus Williams (tennis). She loved to dance and at her 90th Birthday party celebration attended by a crowd of well-wishers she still stole the show on the dance floor. Summer vegetable gardening was one of her passions and she was obsessed with her large cactus house plants. She was an expert seamstress and sewed for her children and grandchildren. She loved to travel and thought a cruise ship experience should be a “must-do” entry on everyone’s “bucket list.” Summer beach vacations with her family on the Outer Banks were some things she looked forward to and found joy in the advance planning of her beach dinner menu and shopping for unique prizes for family “bingo night.” She had a great eye for detail and excelled at completing complicated picture puzzles and crossword puzzles. She had the dates of all 23 grandchildren and great grandchildren’s birthdays committed to memory and would often celebrate the day with an early morning and cheerful “Happy Birthday to You” musical serenade on the telephone.

A visitation wake will be held at Christ the King Church on July 25, 2022, from 5 to 7 pm. A funeral mass will be held at CTK on July 26, 2022, at 11 am followed by burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Aspen Hill, MD. A reception will be held at Georgetown Preparatory School, 10900 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD immediately following the burial.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable donation to “Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington” or “Wounded Warrior Project.”