Pat Blackwell (Strang)

Pat Blackwell
October 1, 1942 – May 7, 2023

Pat was born in Dayton, Ohio, on October 1, 1942, making her the second child of Arden Ralph Strang and Pauline Umbarger Strang and younger sister to her brother John.
The Strang family lived on the very east side of Dayton where at that time several acres of woods were nearby, an idyllic place to build tree houses, run and play, fly kites, and hide and seek. Pat then went on to Ohio State University where she studied to become a dental hygienist, graduating in 1964.
She married Steve Blackwell who was a sales executive for United Technologies, a position that required they relocate from time to time. They lived in Charlotte NC, St. Louis MO, Naperville IL, and wherever they moved, Pat always found work in dental offices. Then on July 1, 1968, she gave birth to a little boy they named Bryan and gave up her career to become a full-time mother.
Steve retired and they relocated to Spring Hill, FL where they lived for several years until they decided to part ways. Four years later she met Bob Kravchuck, of Brandon, Fl. who had recently lost his own marriage partner of 35 years to cancer, and he and Pat married on Oct. 1, 2005. Bob was a retired physicist and had four grown children of his own. Together they bought an RV and made several trips across the US and to Colorado and Utah, eventually falling in love with the West and deciding to move there. They settled in Montrose in 2013.
Pat was somewhat subdued, quiet, and withdrawn, when young, and didn’t really come into her own until middle life when she found God and blossomed into the radiant woman whose loss now has so many hearts aching among family and friends.  One day she was vibrant, happy, active, and by all appearances healthy, and then the doctors found an inoperable cancer in her lung. On May 7th she was taken home by our Holy Father. The world will be a colder place without her, and we will never stop loving and missing her.
Pat was an excellent league tennis player, an adequate golfer, and was fascinated by birds, flowers, and good books. She also volunteered with Hospice Ministries and along with Bob taught Bible studies at St. Mary’s church. Nobody could decorate a house like her and whether it be Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, her home always reflected the season.
She is survived by her husband, Bob Kravchuck of Montrose, her brother John Strang of Montrose, her son Bryan Blackwell and his wife Sandy of Franklin, Indiana, and two grandsons, Colin, and Nate, also of Franklin. There will be a gathering of family and friends held at Crippin Funeral home on May 22nd from 5-7 pm. Her ashes will be mingled with those of her mother, scattered by family at an undisclosed location. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to Hospice (Hope West).