Patricia Catherine (Stokes) Royer, age 93, of Harrisburg, PA passed away peacefully on January 7, 2026.

Patricia was born on August 3, 1932 in Chicago, IL, the daughter of the late Paul and Magdalen (Hanke) Stokes. She was raised in Chicago, where she "wore the steel wheels off my roller skates on the Chicago sidewalks” and married Donald William Royer on June 6, 1953. They moved to Shelton, CT in 1962, where they lived until 1994. After retiring, Patricia and Donald moved to Bradenton, FL, then to Ruskin, FL. She later moved to Winston-Salem, NC and then Harrisburg, PA.

Patricia had a lifelong commitment to learn and spent much of her life pursuing education and learning, beginning as a child with reading at the library: "where the age requirement was waived in the adult section because I had already read everything in the children's section". Wanting the best education, she put herself through St Patrick's High School (Chicago, IL) rather than go to one of the free public schools nearby. Once her youngest child was in school, she went back to school to earn an Associates degree. She went on to earn a Bachelor's degree in Biology and later, at age 61, a Master's in Social Work, both from Southern Connecticut State University.

Her interest in learning lead her to be very instrumental in changing Connecticut law so that special needs children had public education available that met their needs, and was honored by Rosalyn Carter in Washington, DC for this work.

Pat was a life-long Roman Catholic who served as a Choir Member, a Catechist, an Extraordinary Minister, a Lector and a Funeral Sacristan. One of the biggest thrills of her life and favorite memories was being in attendance at the Mass Pope St John Paul IIsaid at Yankee Stadium in 1977. Her dedication to live her faith and her desire to bring assistance to the most vulnerable children, women, the poor, led her when she was living in Bradenton and Ruskin, FL to volunteer with Manatee's Healthy Start Coalition. There, she taught young women sewing while they also learned how to give their children the best healthy start. She was most proud of her involvement with the very successful Moses Basket Project which taught families to safely use a bassinet for their sleeping infant rather than sleeping in the parents' bed. In 2003, Pat also earned a certifi cate in Pastoral Ministry from the Rice School for Catholic Pastoral Theology associated to Barry University in FL. The last year of her life, whether in the hospital, the physical rehabilitation facility or when unable to travel to Mass, Pat was always glad to see the Chaplain or Eucharistic Minister. She looked forward to Wednesdays when the St. Catherine Laboure Shrine Church Prayer Group would come to the Ecumenical Retirement Home.

She stayed active with many hobbies: ceramics, sewing, quilting, genealogy, keeping up with current events, and reading – often reading multiple books at the same time. She also loved to travel, enjoying trips to Hawaii, Alaska, Italy, Ireland and Germany.

Patricia is survived by her children: Catherine (Kaye) Byerly and her husband George, Peggy Royer Parisi and her husband Ron, Virginia Johnson, Barbara Henschel, Nancy Pike and her husband Gregory, James Royer and his wife Elizabeth, Laura Parisi and her husband Thomas John (TJ). She is also survived by 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, 3 great-great-grandchildren, sisters-in-law Gaylene Royer and Mary Ann Stokes, and 10 nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Donald, daughter Paula Elizabeth Royer, her brothers Lawrence Stokes and Paul Stokes, sister-in-law Nancy Stokes, brother-in-law Frank Royer, nephew Steven Royer, and grand-nephew Steven Krupa.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St Anne Catholic Church, 106 11th Ave NE, Ruskin, FL on April 10, 2026, at 11am. The interment of Patricia’s ashes will be held immediately afterwards at Manasota Memorial Park in Bradenton.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Saint Anne Catholic Church. saintanneruskin.org