Patricia Anne Udoutch Castranio

Patricia Anne (Pat) Castranio, of Cary, died Saturday, June 11, 2016, at home, after a long illness. She was 84. A compassionate and accomplished retired nurse, Pat was devoted to her beloved late husband, John, and her lively family of four grown children and their spouses, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She was a true friend to many.

She and her husband moved their family to Cary in 1966 from Endwell, New York, and decided to stay because they loved the town and the people they met.

Pat, the daughter of the late Frank and Mary Udoutch, grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She attended Bishop Guilfoyle High School and graduated as valedictorian from Altoona’s Mercy Hospital School of Nursing, earning a surgical nurse award. She later completed graduate studies in ophthalmology and coronary care.

After giving her children a good start in life and school, Pat worked at the Wake Memorial Emergency Department in Raleigh from 1967-1978 as a night shift charge nurse. She left Wake Med to assist in the opening of the Cary Family Medicine, a full-time job setting up the office, hiring staff, performing nursing duties and maintaining liaisons with community projects in Cary. Later, she also worked at Raleigh Ear, Nose and Throat, as a critical care nurse for a young man with muscular dystrophy, and at Home Health Care of Cary as manager.

As a volunteer, Pat was the epitome of service, working with groups as diverse as the Pilot Club, Girl Scouts, American Legion, Cary Rescue Squad, St. Michael’s Catholic Church, N.C. Emergency Department Nurses Association (state officer), Nursing Advisory Board of Wake County (co-chairman), Head Start, Red Cross, Cancer Crusade (chairman), and the Cary School System. In 1972, Pat was named Cary Woman of the Year.

As an ardent member of the Cary Band Boosters, Pat traveled with the band as nurse to the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1973 and to the Fêtes de Genève in Switzerland in 1974. She was a charter member of the VFW Auxiliary, a member of the Cary Library Board of Trustees from 1974 to 1984, and a member of the Wake County Library Commission in the 1980s, also serving as the chairman in 1984.

Her children were astonished to learn of most of these accomplishments because to them, she was just Mom. And what makes a life such as Pat’s? It was the love and caring she gave to her children and her husband and her numerous friends (not to mention the family’s crazy cats and dogs). To the people in her life, she was the one who always listened with a sympathetic ear to the troubles of others, who provided expert medical advice at any time when asked, who made chicken soup and meatballs for friends who needed comfort, and who always remembered others with a card or a phone call. For these kindnesses, she will always be cherished and missed.

In recent times, Pat’s illness has prevented her from being able to communicate with others, but she will be remembered as a steadfast, forthright righter of wrongs and crusader for the helpless.

Pat is survived by her children Mary Anne Castranio, John and Judee Castranio, Connie and Mike Mooney, and David and Lisa Castranio; her grandsons Craig Gillooly, Ryan (and Allison) Gillooly, John (and Megan) Castranio, and Max Mooney; her granddaughters Chelsea (and Patrick) Dunn, Erin Castranio, Brittainy Smith, Leah Mooney and Amy Castranio; and her great-grandchildren Aiden, Lorelei (Gigi), and Jillian Dunn, and Jack Castranio. She is also survived by her brother Francis and sister-in-law Mary Ann Udoutch, her sister-in-law Louise Castranio, and many nieces and nephews.

Donations may be made in Pat’s honor to Transitions LifeCare (transitionslifecare.org) or SPCA of Wake County (spcawake.org).