Patti J. Papapietro

ITHACA - Patti Jean Papapietro of Ithaca, NY, died on Wednesday, July 17, 2019.

Patti was born January 12, 1957, in Bristol, CT, to Jean and James Papapietro. A graduate of Bristol Eastern High School, she was a member of The Phi Beta Kappa Society at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, where she earned a B.A. in psychology and cemented a lifelong passion for the UConn basketball teams. In 1987, she earned a master’s in community counseling from St. Bonaventure University. Early in her career, Patti traveled the East Coast with the Baldridge Reading and Study Skills program, then worked at the University of Pittsburgh, Bradford.

Patti found her true home when she moved to Ithaca in 1988 to work as a student development counselor at Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology. In that role—one she held for three decades—she apprehended the aspirations and anxieties of countless students, helping each discover their own path. Patti found the work deeply rewarding and over the years, many former students became cherished friends. Fiercely independent, Patti cultivated beauty—in her garden, in her home—and relished solitude. She was also a generous listener, a loyal friend, and an astute student of character, by turns empathic and irreverent. Patti was passionate about Ithaca, rights for women, and mindful community. Authenticity was her measure of goodness and in the lengthy illness that preceded her death, Patti declared that the grace, human connection, and care she experienced had far outweighed what the diagnosis would ultimately cost.

Patti is survived by dear, dear friends in Ithaca; brothers James (of New Hampshire) and Gerald (of Tennessee) and their spouses; and many admiring nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents and twin siblings David and Dorothy.

A burial ceremony will be held at Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in Newfield, NY, on Wednesday, July 24, at 11am.

Memorial contributions may be made to Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, NY.

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Wednesday, July 24, 2019 11:00 AM

Greensprings 293 irish hill rd. newfield, ny 14867