Patricia Marie Brehmer

Patricia (House) Goodwin Brehmer, 90, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 with her daughters by her side. Patricia was born on March 2, 1935, to Ross Ira and Helen (Clark) House in Highland Park, Michigan. Pat attended the High School of Commerce, graduating class of 1952. In November 1953, Pat married her childhood sweetheart, Jim Goodwin, a graduate of Cass Tech High School serving in the Air Force. Over the next nine years they built their family together, welcoming five children and settling in their home not far from the Detroit neighborhood where they had grown up together.

In October of 1962 tragedy struck when Jim was killed in a work-related construction accident leaving Pat widowed at age 27 with five kids to raise including a 5-month-old infant. Surrounded by the love of family and neighborhood friends, Pat drew on her inner strength and creativity to rise to the challenge of raising her family, giving them all the love and support they would need to become strong, loving, capable adults.

In 1969 Pat moved her family to Farmington Hills and worked various jobs until she started her career as an Administrative Assistant at IBM in 1977. She explored her own creative talents through many art forms, excelling in painting, needlework, and quilting.

It was in the early 1980’s while working at IBM, Pat met and then married Field Engineer Bill Brehmer. Together they traveled and shared interests in crafts – Bill, in woodworking and Pat in painting. Through her marriage to Bill, Pat’s family increased to include Bill’s children as well.

Pat’s life has been a legacy of hospitality and kindness. She never met a stranger and there was always room at the table to welcome one more for dinner. While she enjoyed crafting and creating, what she loved most was gifting her art to her many children, grandchildren, nephews and their families. There was nothing she loved more than a crowded family gathering with food and games and noisy chaos, all topped off with hugs for everyone.

She will be missed by her family and friends, but her sense of fun and friendship will not be forgotten, and her lessons of hospitality, kindness, and generosity have shaped the generations she leaves behind.

Pat is preceded in death by her husband, James H. Goodwin; her husband William T. Brehmer; stepson James Brehmer, her parents, Ross Ira and Helen (Clark) House; and

siblings Margaret House, Robert House, Shirley (House) Paape, and Roger (Joanne) House.

She is survived by her children Thomas (Marisa) Goodwin, Robert (Marcia) Goodwin, James (Suzanne) Goodwin, Sharon (Jerome) Menard, Deborah (Carl) Struble, and William (Teresa) Brehmer; thirteen grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held at Elton Black & Son Funeral Home at 1233 Union Lake Rd, White Lake, MI 48386 on Wednesday, March 4, starting at 11:00 AM, followed by a Celebration of Life service at noon and a luncheon. Patricia will be laid to rest at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit in a private family service on Thursday.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to the Hospice of Michigan or the American Cancer Society.