Patricia Carol Patrick

Dr. Patricia Carol Patrick, MD, PhD (née Gibford), beloved mother, psychiatrist, teacher, and lifelong learner, died peacefully on May 14, 2026, in Antioch, California, at the age of 88. She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter Mazzie Patrick, in 2008, and is survived by her daughters, Leslie Carole Henson of California and Stephani Amstadter, MD., of Washington.

Born on Aug. 7, 1937, in Washington State to Dudley Gibford and Dorothy Halbert, Patricia was determined from an early age to become a physician. She began medical school at UCLA and completed her degree at Northwestern University Medical School, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1963 as one of only five women in her class.

While still in medical school, Patricia married Robert Leslie Amstadter, and together they welcomed their two daughters, Leslie and Stephani. Her children remember her as kind, gentle, driven, and genuinely encouraging their ambitions and goals.

Patricia devoted her professional life to psychiatry, initially focusing exclusively on children and adolescents before expanding her practice to patients of all ages. She remained deeply committed to the healing value of psychotherapy alongside medicine throughout her career.

In 1974, Patricia moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where she built a respected private practice and became widely regarded as the region’s leading child and adolescent psychiatrist. Her passion for learning led her to study a wide range of therapeutic approaches, including Sandplay Therapy, and, in her 50’s, Jungian psychology at the University of Zürich in Switzerland. There, she immersed herself in psychoanalytic study and integrated the teachings of Carl Jung into her work. She later joined renowned Jungian analyst Marion Woodman and became an important member of the Marion Woodman Foundation, helping to guide the organization.

“Dr. Pat” moved to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii in 2000, began practicing, and became the only psychiatrist on the Island providing therapy. She saw her last patient in Hawaii in 2021 at the age of 84.

Always devoted to scholarship and growth, Patricia earned a PhD in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in her late 70s. Her dissertation on childhood trauma and PTSD explored the physiological effects of trauma and proposed innovative approaches to diagnosis and treatment.

Patricia was accomplished in many pursuits and endlessly curious about the world. In her mid-50s, she traveled alone to Bhutan and trekked through the Himalayas. Soon afterward, she earned double black belts in Taekwondo and Hapkido, during which time she met the love of her life, Peter. Together they made their home in Hawaii. After Peter’s death, she lovingly cared for several hānai — informally adopted — teens from the Pacific Islands and supported them through high school and into their early college years.

Patricia is remembered as soft-spoken, brilliant, ambitious, and endlessly curious. She loved Hawaii, treasured her family, and inspired others to pursue knowledge, compassion, and personal growth. Following surgery for an ascending aortic aneurysm, she gradually lost her memory and cognition in her later years. Her legacy endures through her daughters, her patients, her students, and the many lives she changed through her wisdom, compassion, and care.

A graveside service was held at the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery in Kona, on May 29, 2026. She is interred with Peter at site B-A-13. To celebrate Patricia’s life, in lieu of flowers, please make a tribute to the Marion Woodman Foundation at https://www.mwfbodysoulrhythms.org/ For more information, please contact Leslie at [email protected]. The family would like to thank Patricia’s friends, caregivers, and the staff at

TreVista in Antioch, California, for their care, dedication, and kindness.