“Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”
It is with great sadness that the family of Patricia Campi Lyon announces she has lost her valiant battle with cancer and passed away at home Nov. 27, 2022. Known to all who loved her as Patann, she was born July 23, 1961, grew up in Rumson, and attended and was a graduate of Rumson-Fair Haven High School Class of ’79.
Patann graduated from New England College where she was captain of the equestrian team and earned a B.A. in psychology and sociology. She also attended the New School for Social Research in New York City.
Her career was dedicated to the service, care and management of persons with developmental disabilities. She was the childcare counselor for the Marian House in Belmar and the New Horizons resident coordinator. She also served as assistant director of residential services and director of adult services for ArcMorris. Relocating after marriage, she became director of quality assurance for Camary Statewide Services in Albany, New York, and then director of residential services for Litchfield Arc in Connecticut. The last 14 years she worked in pre-K special education as a paraprofessional at the Quaker Farms School in Oxford, Connecticut, where she touched many young minds.
Patann was an equestrian, an avid runner, a lover of pets and happiest at the beach, in her vegetable garden or with her family. She was unconditionally kind and devoted to her family, and we will forever cherish the many happy years we shared together. Patann was a rarity in this world, a true ray of light with a glowing soul, and our lives will be forever dimmer without her.
She was predeceased by her parents, Kathleen (Margarella) and Victor J. Campi, and her brothers-in-law, Charles Raines, Christopher Lyon and Richard Lyon, and sister-in-law Catherine Lyon Corbett. Patann leaves behind her husband James of 27 years; her beloved children, Thomas and Sarah; cherished grandson Victor Jay; her sisters, Kasey Ordway Raines, Marian Campi Conde and Diane Campi Brunner; and brother-in-law James; the extended Lyon and Bruckmann families; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
The family extends a special gratitude for the exceptional level of care and compassion provided by the doctors and staff at the Yale Smilow Cancer Center.
For friends and family to celebrate Patann’s life, please join us at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 22 for a memorial service at St. George’s-by-the-River, 7 Lincoln Ave., Rumson. A reception will follow at the church.
The article originally appeared in the April 6 – 12, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
