Patricia Jean Moffitt

Patricia Jean “Pat” Otto Moffitt lived a full life filled with family. She was born the third of 10 children to Fern Mae Wheeler and Leo Otto of Wisconsin, but due to family health reasons, was raised by the Van Landingham family. She did know of or find her Otto birth family until 2015, but when she did, she was known and welcomed with open arms by her siblings.

After a first marriage, in the 1970s she found the love of her life and near-constant companion, Robert Stanley “Stan” Moffitt, while working for Southern Pacific Railroad in Southern California. They were forever in love with each other, through thick and thin, and even in their final years were still being told by their kids to “Get a room!” They combined her four kids with visits from his three kids from a previous marriage to create a blended family of seven kids. While watching the TV show Eight is Enough, Stan said, “I’m glad we don’t have eight kids!” and Pat responded “Not so fast!”, adding one more to the mix. From that beginning, they created a family of 18 surviving grandchildren and 20 surviving great-grandchildren, plus another great-grandchild on the way. In later years, they adopted two of their great-grandchildren.

Pat’s journey took her from Wisconsin to California to Nevada to Oklahoma and finally to Colorado, where she and Stan made Colorado Springs their home. She worked in administration for the railroad, in agriculture, and in Colorado Springs in healthcare at Peak Vista Community Health. Away from work, she enjoyed bowling with family, in league and in other competitive play, putting together jigsaw puzzles, playing board games, getting her nails done, going out to eat with friends, and of course, spending time with family in Colorado and traveling to visit family and friends in other states. During her long search for her birth family, she met many people who could have been biological family, and adopted many of them as chosen family. After retirement, she learned to play multiplayer games online so that she could spend more time with family who lived further away. She had a long love of butterflies, and collected all kinds of butterfly-decorated items, so when a lovely butterfly graces your day with its beauty, please think of Pat.

As Pat and Stan were constant companions in life, they also left us near simultaneously in death. Pat had a quick but aggressive and terminal form of cancer. Stan’s health had been declining for several years. He died on September 24, 2024, and she quickly followed him early in the morning of September 26. Services for both Pat and Stan will be held at 11 AM on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at Pikes Peak National Cemetery, with a post-service casual get-together at Fountain Creek Regional Park in Fountain, CO. Due to the windy conditions at the cemetery, the family asks for no flowers at the service. As many people who would have normally sent flowers have asked how to memorialize Stan and/or Pat, Stan and Pat would have much preferred that we get together after the service and tell stories about them over snacks. 

As many people who would have normally sent flowers have asked how to memorialize Pat and/or Stan, Pat and Stan would have much preferred that we get together after the service and tell stories about them over snacks. If you would have usually memorialized Pat by sending flowers, please make a contribution to your favorite local charity in her name, or you can contribute to paying for snacks at the get-together through a GoFundMe authorized by the family https://www.gofundme.com/f/hcahdm-join-us-to-support-a-grieving-familys-needs or via PayPal authorized by the family https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/dmhollems. Any excess funds will be used to pay for funeral and other final expenses.