Patricia A. DeYoung passed away on August 18, 2026, at the age of 84. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 15, 1942, Pat grew up in New Orleans, New York City, and Alexandria, Virginia. She also lived in Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands for more than a decade, where she designed and built a home and started an aloe farm.
Pat attended Groveton High School and graduated from George Washington University with a B.A. in Economics. She worked for the U.S. government for 20 years, providing technical assistance in financial and economic analysis to groups and individuals. Her work included economic consulting for the White House, the Agency for International Development, and other U.S. agencies. Amongst her many sideline projects was "DeYoung and Hecker Export”, a business that she started with longtime friend Danny Hecker in 1972. She also put her efforts into the early start up days of Washington Independent Writers which hosted conferences on the Washington National Cathedral grounds.
To know Pat was to be swept into an adventure. A voracious reader, lifelong seeker, and lover of the arts, she traveled extensively throughout Europe, India, and other parts of Asia. She filled her home and her life with beautiful and curious treasures gathered from around the world. She greeted loved ones with theatrical delight, befriended strangers without hesitation, and moved through life as though something marvelous might happen at any moment. She often made sure that it did.
She leaves behind her beloved siblings, Jay DeYoung, Karen DeYoung, Cheryl DeYoung and David DeYoung; Jay’s wife, Christine DeYoung, and children, Jonathan DeYoung and Kathryn A. DeYoung; David’s partner, Janet Stone; and the children of her late sister Gwendolyn, Susannah Smith, Emily Smith, and Noelle Curren, as well as Noelle’s husband, Anthony Curren. In addition, she leaves behind her beloved Community of Hope at Pohick Episcopal Church which served her well as her faith family.
Family and friends are invited to gather on September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Pohick Church in Lorton, Virginia. Pat’s zest for life, love of people, and gift for finding the marvelous in the everyday will continue in the lives of all who loved her.
