Patricia Ann Milly

Patricia Milly, 91, of Marietta, Georgia, died August 20, 2026, after facing ALS with the same determination she brought to everything in her joyful, happy, energetic life. She never lost her laugh, her giggle or her taste in leading men — Brad Pitt and Denzel Washington remained, to the end, top on her list as well as on her iPhone’s lock screen.

A city girl at heart, Patricia was born Jan. 12, 1935, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Ethel (who sold ladies fur coats at Kaufmann's downtown) and Walter Melvin (a printer). Her father was a proud Irishman who fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II and named her after Ireland's patron saint — a name she wore proudly her whole life. She was also fiercely proud of her father. She enjoyed a close relationship with her parents and her Great Aunt “Chooch” and Uncle John, all of whom she lived with growing up on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Or as she pronounced it in her accent, the “Norrrrthsssside." There she learned to “worsh” her car, “redd up” her house and always keep a “gum band” around her wrist… just in case. She was riding the streetcar solo by age 8 — proof that she never waited for anyone before taking the bull by the horns in life.

As a teenager, she attended Oliver High School where she sat on the student council, aced all her classes, had excellent penmanship, became a master typist, played softball and basketball and swam laps around everyone — an early sign she liked being good at everything, all at once.

Shortly thereafter, she worked as a secretary and assistant to Mr. William Coutts, a Titanic survivor, which meant she spent her days organizing the schedule of a man who'd already survived the worst commute in history. In 1954, she won the pier diving contest at the famed Lombardy Hotel in Miami Beach — a story that, over the next seven decades, only got better in the retelling.

Then she met Donald Milly, another Pittsburgh native (from the neighborhood of Bloomfield), at a dance club called The Grove. They married in 1957 and stayed together until his death in 2016.

In the 1960s, she lived just outside New York City with Donald and their new baby Janine. The family spent time ice skating at Rockefeller Center, listening to jazz and going on camping trips. They moved to Marietta, Georgia, in the 70s where the family grew to include two more children – Jenna and Paul Jesse, better known as “P.J.” Pat spent countless hours driving Jenna to pottery classes and P.J. to soccer games (and baseball, and basketball, and hockey and every sport there was, P.J. being a energetic like his mother). She later worked for Cobb County Schools and found her true calling: gardening, bunco and drinking limoncello with her many friends.

She attended Mt. Zion United Methodist Church and served as the bookkeeper for her adult ministry group. She and Donald went on several trips to France, Spain and also Costa Rica.

Pat had her quirks, too. She hated it when the gas gauge dropped below half a tank. Her garbage cans were impeccable -- she wouldn’t even let you put trash in them! And when she had guests over, she made sure that they were always well loved and well fed. She enjoyed doing laundry for you, even if you were still wearing your shirt. And she wouldn’t leave her kitchen until every dish was in its proper place.

If you knew Pat, you loved her. She was fiercely loyal, authentic and sincere. She loved funny stories of all kinds as laughing was her favorite pastime.

She is survived by her children, Janine, Jenna and family (Florent, Luc and Rio Cros) and Paul Jesse “P.J.” and family (Myrna, Mauriella, Pia and Caliana Milly); her niece Eva Melvin and family (Tony, Shane and Tara Sarazen); her niece Denise Melvin and family (Adam Miller); her niece Betsy Melvin and family (Greg Nemeth); her niece Tina Velez and family (Ruben, Julian and Christian Velez); her niece Jenny Melvin and family (Joshua Melvin and Sean Glatz); and her nephew Philip Melvin. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Milly, and her brother, James Melvin.

A fellowship gathering will be held Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at 10:30am - 12:30pm, at H.M. Patterson & Son Canton Hill in Marietta, Georgia. Please feel free to wear something green in true Irish spirt.

Patsy loved being in her garden. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to plant a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation. But she would also love it if you shared a glass of wine with a friend, had a big family dinner, did all your dishes and laundry before bed and gave your mother a kiss.