Patricia Ann Nagorka

Patricia Ann Thayer Nagorka, of Parker, Colo. passed away Feb. 13, 2018., after a long battle with an inherited lung disease, Alpha-1 Anti-trypsinase Deficiency. Patricia was born on Aug. 21, 1936 in East Lansing, Mich., and grew up on a farm that was part of Michigan State University. The family later moved to Mechanicsville, Va., where she graduated from high school. She earned a B.S. degree in nursing from the University of Maryland, where she met her future husband, Roman Edmund Nagorka. They married in her parents backyard in 1957. Pat and Rome had two sons while living in Baltimore, and a son and daughter after they moved to moved to Colorado in 1963. She dedicated herself full-time to raising their children and volunteer work. When their youngest son was in high school, she started a 23-year career as a paraprofessional working with special education students in the Douglas County School District. She was an extremely active volunteer in her later years. She served on the board of the Colorado Trail Foundation and for many years managed its trail crew food supplies. The Douglas County Democrats presented her with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. Even as her lung disease grew worse and limited her mobility, she spent hundreds of hours stuffing envelopes for political campaigns, the Colorado Trail, and a continuing education program. Patricia‚'s husband died in 2002. She is survived by her four children, Michael of Parker, Co.; Anthony, and his wife, Deborah, of Glendale, Az.; Jennifer, and her husband, William McKenzie, of Dallas; and Christopher, and his wife, Heidi Talmage, of St. Albans, WV. She also is survived by four grand-children, Daniel Nagorka, Robert Nagorka, Douglas McKenzie and Annie McKenzie. A private memorial service will be held later. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to: The Colorado Trail Foundation, 710 10th Street, Suite 210, Golden, Co., 80401 -or- The Alpha-1 Foundation, 3300 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables, FL, 33134.