In Memoriam -- Patricia E. Dillon (T-4)

Friends--

It is with much sadness that I report the passing, on September 20, 2006, of Patricia E. Dillon (T-4). She died in her sleep, apparently of a heart atttack.

Patti was one of my T-4 roommates in Karabuk, and Angela Costanza Warner, was the other one. Dick Bier (T-8) was also in Karabuk. We all had good times together.

Patti was well liked by her fellow teachers, students, neighbors, and friends in Karabuk. On my frequent trips back to Karabuk, I invariably run into someone who remembers Patti and asks me about her. Having been in Turkey a year before me, she was especially helpful to me in translating what the Turks were saying. She was a very good hostess when we invited the teachers over to our apartment for tea, and she was the one who made Turkish coffee.

I remember my first Christmas in Karabuk, when we had a real Christmas tree in our apartment. We decorated it with various and sundry things, but the decoration that sticks out the most, were the candy canes. Patti, Angela, and I went to a pastahane and described and drew pictures of candy canes and asked them if they could make some for us. They did, and while they were more like cookies than candy, they looked very good hanging on our tree, and were tasty, too!

Patti and I kept in touch over the years, but only saw each other infrequently, as she lived on the west coast (Portland, OR), and I live on the east coast (Arlington, VA). We did get together in the summer of 2005, at the Turkey Peace Corps Reunion in Portland. We had a lot of fun reminiscing about the good
old days in Turkey, especially in Karabuk. She also had a wonderful time getting together with the T-4s who were in attendance.

This past summer, Patti got to experience a lifelong dream of hers. She and a friend traveled to Ireland and enjoyed themselves immensely.

Patti was a kind, gentle, and giving person. She helped out others less fortunate than her, whether disabled children, or people stricken with AIDS. She will be missed by all whose lives she touched.

Linda Scheffer (T-8)