Patricia (“Pat”) Freed (neé Gannon) passed away peacefully on September 13, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. She was 93.

Pat was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1924, the eldest of five children of Nora Alice Gannon (neé McConnville) and Lawrence Patrick Gannon, both descendants of Irish immigrants. Her father was a grain dealer and her mother was a homemaker.  She graduated from Annunciation Grade School in Minneapolis in 1938 and from Washburn High School in 1942. Pat attended Hamline University, where she studied history and piano and received her bachelor’s degree 1950. She graduated from Hamline as a member of the College Court of Honor, a distinction reserved for the three men and three women with the highest grade point averages.

After graduating, Pat pursued a career in music. She taught piano at Hamline University, performed in chamber music concerts in the Minneapolis area, and toured the country as an accompanist to modern dancer Gertrude Lippincott. In 1965 she moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where she worked as a private piano teacher until her retirement. Pat retired from teaching in 2003, thirty-eight years after first opening the doors of her studio. Following her retirement, Pat moved to Portland, Oregon, where she spent the remainder of her days.

Pat will be remembered by those who knew her for her passion for music and literature; her avid interest in history and politics; her intelligence and wit; and her indomitable strength and independence. Pat’s survivors include her brother Jim Gannon and sister Alice Jacques; her four daughters, Stephanie Tramz, Lesley Freed, Bridget Freed and Nora Arkonovich; her six grandchildren, Sebastian Timar, Cody and Susan Sukosky, Devin Freed, and Anna and Ben Arkonovich; and her two great-grandchildren, Annelise and Francesca Timar. A private celebration of Pat’s life will be held on October 21^st, 2017 in Minneapolis.

May she rest in peace.