Patricia Ann Wright-Canale

Patricia Ann Canale, beloved Mom, Grammy, and Miss Patricia, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 21, 2026, with her son Gregory by her side. Patricia was born December 29, 1939, in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the first child of Homer and Mildred “Milly” Devore. She was soon joined by Diana, and they were both big sisters to Hugh (“Sonny”) Meeks who was born when Patricia was 10 years old. After graduating from Ponca City (Oklahoma) High School, Patricia obtained her nursing degree from the University of Oklahoma. While in nursing school, she met Ronald Clark, a medical student from Tulsa, and they married in 1959. She had their son, David, in 1961 while living and working in Oklahoma City. She then met and married Dr. Gordon Tekell, working in the same Oklahoma City hospital, and they moved to West Texas where they welcomed her second son, Gregory, in 1963.

While working as an R.N. in Gordon’s medical clinic, Patricia raised her two boys with unlimited love and affection. She taught them how to find the good in every person they met. She also taught them to love and care for animals of all kinds, especially if they were sick or injured, as a perfect expression of her compassion and care for those less fortunate.

In 1973, Patricia and her family moved from West Texas and settled in Yuma, Arizona. She met friends there that she would keep the rest of her life. Patricia married John Wright in 1986. John’s untimely death from cancer in 1990 left a scar on Patricia’s heart that never quite healed. Even so, Patricia found love again with Patsy Canale, who had lost his wife to cancer as well. “Pat and Pat” were married in Kauai in 1998. They enjoyed their retirement years together in Yuma. When her grandchildren came to visit her from Texas each summer, “Grammy” and Pat would spoil them with trips to Disneyland and the West Coast, making memories that will last forever.

“Miss Patricia” was competitive in many pursuits, but especially at bridge, achieving the rank of Life Master early in her career. She cherished her weekly bridge games. She also loved her girlfriends who got together once a month for a “sorority” meeting or an out-of-town excursion, and later her Girls Night Out (“GNO”) crew who would often meet at “Dos Pesos.” Miss Patricia’s enduring beauty, smile and sense of humor gave her a place in the hearts of everyone she met.

Patricia was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Diana Gray, her husband, John Wright, and her husband Patsy Canale. Left to cherish every moment spent with her are her brother, Hugh Meeks and his husband, Chris Tate, her son, David Tekell and his wife, Angela, and her son Gregory Tekell, her two grandsons, Coleman Tekell and Marshall Tekell, her “adopted” daughter, Consuelo Brotherton and her husband, Dean Brotherton, and her many life-long friends in Yuma.

A funeral service for Patricia Canale will be held on June 13, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1550 South 14th Avenue, Yuma, Arizona, 85364. In lieu of flowers, please make gifts in honor of Patricia to the Humane Society of Yuma, 1824 S. 8th Avenue, Yuma, Arizona 85364.