Pattie Cotter Slattery Burke, beloved wife of John P. Burke, died peacefully in Austin, Texas on December 8, 2013. She was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on April 18, 1930. Pattie and John married in 1978 and lived in Scottsdale, Arizona until they retired to Austin in 2008.
Pattie was the "Darling of LSU" in 1948 and 1949 and crowned Miss America Coed at Virginia Beach in 1948. She was also a Chesterfield Girl and the US Navy "Miss Bearcat." From 1955 to 1978 she lived in New Orleans where she taught art and architecture at De La Salle High School. She displayed her paintings in New Orleans in the French Quarter for Spring Fiesta. In the 1980s, she was a professor at Arizona State University and opened a design business in Phoenix. Pattie and John served as volunteers at the Catholic Newman Center at ASU with the Dominican priests. Pattie’s design of the restoration of the Old Mission Church in Tempe, AZ won numerous awards.
She is preceded in death by her first husband, George P. Slattery, and their infant son, Timothy, her parents Florentine and David Cotter, her brother David E. Cotter, and aunt Bertha Jones. She is survived by her four boys and their partners: Kevin and Lindsey Slattery of Pensacola, FL; Patrick Slattery and Michael O’Malley of Austin, TX; Bill and Michele Parks of Churchville, PA; and Bob Parks of Baton Rouge, LA. She has nine grandchildren: Michelle Slattery and her partner Charles Page of Austin, Joshua Slattery of Austin, Katie Slattery of Lafayette, LA, and their mother Cheryl Friberg of Lafayette, LA; David Slattery, Daniel Slattery, Rebecca Slattery, and Joseph Slattery of Pensacola, FL; Bill Parks of Doylestown, PA and Tyler Parks of Atlanta, GA. She adored her great-grandchildren: Kaiser Lamson and Genevieve Lamson of Lafayette and Danielle Slattery of Pensacola. Pattie is survived by her cousin Donna Ferrell of Lafayette, LA, and Donna’s four children and nine grandchildren.
In 1978, Pattie was welcomed with open arms into the Burke family of New Mexico. She grew to love each and every sibling, niece, and nephew of her new husband, and they in turn adored the new "outlaw" in the family. Pattie was also loved dearly by the Slattery family of Shreveport throughout her life. She had a special life-long bond with many first and second cousins across four generations. "Aunt Pattie" touched the lives of so many, and she in turn was enriched beyond measure by hundreds of relatives, students, and friends.
Writing became Pattie’s passion later in life, and in 2009 she published her memoir "Women and Pedagogy: Education Through Autobiographical Narrative." Her life was enriched by her Serendipity Sisterhood Story Circle writing group, especially Mary Jo Doig, Rhonda McMahon, Peggy Moody, and Susan Albert.
Visitation will be held at the Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills, 9700 Anderson Mill Rd. in Austin on Friday night, December 13 from 6-7:30pm, and a memorial on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 1pm. Her funeral Mass will be at Holy Name of Jesus Church in New Orleans on February 15, 2014 at 11am celebrated by her lifelong friend, Fr. Norman O’Neal, SJ., followed by a celebration of her life at De la Salle High School on Pattie’s beloved St. Charles Ave. Pattie requested a family pilgrimage to Abiquiu, New Mexico in 2014 to scatter her ashes near the Monastery of Christ in the Desert – a place of artistic inspiration and spiritual transformation in her life.
The family would like to thank the amazing medical professionals who supported Pattie throughout her illness, especially Dr. Larry Kravitz, Dr. Kenneth Ellis, Dr. Amy Neuzil, Dee Black, Sarah Jane Eplett and everyone at Asera Care Hospice, Senior Minded Home Care, and the amazing staff of Renaissance Assisted Living. We are most grateful for all of her compassionate caregivers and the special attention of many family members including Heather Anthony Turner, Megan Anthony Southard, and Claire Anthony Toth. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to De La Salle High School Art Department, The Southern Jesuits, Dominican Priests of the Western Province, St. Vincent’s Academy Alumni of Shreveport, or St. La Salle Auxiliary of Covington, LA. Pattie’s web site is www.pattiecsburke.com
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