Patricia Ann Scungio

Patricia passed from this life to be with our Lord, Monday, Aug. 10, 2009. After years of struggling through serious health complications, surgeries and a triumphant comeback from a devastating stroke in 2007, her poor little heart could not go any further and she suffered a sudden heart attack that took her away from her loving and devastated family. Patricia, nicknamed Dee Dee, was a beautiful, brown-eyed southern California-raised girl. Those that knew her remember her telling how, at only fifteen years old, she met her best friend and love of her life, Tony while she was, "working in the front yard of her house in the garden in her short-shorts and this tall, dark and handsome Italian boy peeked over the fence and said, "Hi, my name is Tony. What's yours?" At 17, pregnant with her first child (Mark), Patricia and Anthony, then 19, were married on a rainy day, Nov. 25, 1961, in a Los Angeles court house in a simple, no-frills ceremony in front of a justice of the peace and only their disapproving parents in attendance. Though the ceremony was small and with little support from their parents, they overcame the odds against them and grew a big love that continued to grow throughout their 47 years of marriage. The couple had three children, a son, Mark and two daughters, Elaine and Mary. They scrimped and saved to purchase their first home for their family in West Covina, Calif., where they raised their family until they had grown and moved away; with the occasional return of one or more of them, sometimes with grandchildren in tow and sometimes for extended stays. But Patricia loved all of her children and had a special love for all of her grandchildren. Though some moved away and lost contact, as sometimes happens in families, Patricia's love for her children and grandchildren was unwaivering. While raising her family, Patricia worked 17 years as a special needs instructional aide for elementary school students at Manzanita Elementary School in West Covina. The years she dedicated there she always remembered fondly. After work she picked up her kids from school, went to the market, cooked dinner and had it waiting on the table for her husband every night. She tirelessly managed to keep the house clean, washed clothes, folded and put neatly in the drawers, changed linens continuously, kept the garden filled with marigolds and strawberries, wiped tears, bandaged boo boos, worriedly rushed her youngest, asthmatic daughter too many times to the emergency room, took her children on vacations across country and frequent trips to Disneyland and did it all with happiness in her heart and out of love for her family. It was all done with little thanks, no fanfare, no parades or accolades. She was a wonderful, caring and loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Later in life, Patricia moved with her husband to South Lake Tahoe, Calif. and later to her beloved Gardnerville, Nev. in the beautiful Carson Valley in the shadow of the Sierras, just below "pointy peak" as she called Jobs Peak. They lived with their daughter Mary and her husband Greg Weaver and her two adored grandchildren Nick and Emily for more than 17 years. During this time she worked many years at the J.C.Penney catalog store in South Lake Tahoe and later at Hutt Aviation in Minden, Nev. where she worked until her stroke forced her to retire in April 2007. It wasn't until the summer of 2008 that she would move once more with her husband and her daughter Mary and family to Rio Rancho, N.M. Though she missed her beautiful Carson Valley and the dear family and friends she left behind, she often said she felt like she was on her first honeymoon with her husband Tony in New Mexico. She told her daughter Mary often, that finally alone together in their own apartment for the first time in their lives, Patricia felt closer than ever to Tony and she often felt like they, "were two little kids falling in love all over again."
No wife or mother was ever as loving and as loved as Patricia. Her family misses her terribly and looks forward, by God's grace, to be reunited again with her in Heaven. Patricia was preceded in death by her parents Walter and Dorothy Miller, her brother Walter Miller and brother-in-law Kenneth Parker. She is survived by her loving husband, Anthony Scungio, of Rio Rancho, N.M.; her son, Mark Scungio, of Denver, Colo.; her daughter and son-in-law, Elaine and Anthony West and grandchildren, Ryan, Andrew and Rachel, of Hayden, Idaho; her daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Gregory Weaver and grandchildren, Nicholas and Emily Anne, of Rio Rancho, N.M.; brother, John Miller and sister, Charlotte Parker, both of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; niece, Shelly Parker of Las Vegas, Nev.; niece and husband Susan and Joseph Lewis Krieger III and great nephew and niece Joseph IV and Lyndsey Krieger, all of South Lake Tahoe, Calif.; and nephew, Brett Parker, of San Jose, California. She is further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and many dear friends. Patricia's care has been entrusted to: Daniels Family Funeral Services, 4310 Sara Rd., Rio Rancho, NM 87124. (505) 892-9920. Mom,
Thank you for the the best macaroni and cheese (it made the happy times happier and the bad times not hurt so much), your yummy pumpkin pie recipe and most importantly your love. I love you Mommy! Goodnight from this life. I will always miss you, until we meet again...Kisses on your face, your Pookies, Mare Mare, Mary Jay, Mary Jay Bird Teen Teen, Mary. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26