Patricia J. (Hickey) Maurer

Patricia J. Maurer; Age 84, passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 27, surrounded by her family. Born July 23, 1941 in Pittsburgh, Pat was the second of seven daughters born to the late Robert and Cecilia (Toomey) Hickey. She grew up in Green Tree, attended Catholic schools, and graduated from St. James in the West End, where she pursued business classes. Among her cherished high school memories were time spent with her best friend, Margie, winning a Smith-Corona typewriter for placing first in a typing contest, and skipping lunch so she could save her 15 cents to buy chips and a soda after school with her friends. Pat began her career as a secretary and bookkeeper in the Insurance industry at Foedisch & Free, where she worked for a number of years before starting her family. 

At a 50th Wedding Anniversary party that neither of them wanted to attend, Pat met her future husband of 49 years, the late Emil A. Sr. Their courtship was quick, given Emil was in the Navy and was regularly deployed on tours of duty in the Mediterranean Sea. Emil proposed to Pat by mail, presented her with an engagement ring while she was in her parents’ kitchen peeling potatoes for dinner, and was redeployed for a six-month tour of duty after they wed. During that final tour of his enlistment, Pat lived next door to her paternal grandmother. Every day when Pat got home from work, her grandmother knocked on the wall to let Pat know dinner was ready. In addition to sharing dinners, Pat’s grandmother taught her how to bake bread, a skill that came to define Pat’s expression of love. Among her children’s best memories are coming home from school to the smell of freshly baked bread, just out of the oven, which was smothered with peanut butter and promptly devoured. When her youngest son entered Junior High School, Pat returned to full time secretarial and bookkeeping work, joining the team at Joseph Keppel & Son Insurance Agency, where she worked until her retirement. She considered her seven children her greatest achievement: Dr. Emil Jr. (Christina) of Hermitage, Paul (Linda) of Greensburg, Patricia of Pittsburgh, David of Georgetown, Rosemarie of Moon Twp., Joseph of Grants Pass, OR, and Matthew (Carla) of Cranberry Twp. Her 16 grandchildren were her greatest joy, and she considered her seven great grandchildren “little” bonuses. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends, including her dear sisters, Regina and Bernadette.

Pat was a voracious reader. She was such a huge fan of Neil Diamond that she once postponed surgery so as not to miss his upcoming concert. She cherished family time playing games, never met an Ace in-the-hole she didn’t like, and would have been perfectly happy eating nothing but chocolate ice cream and peanut M&Ms for the rest of her life. In addition to her husband, Emil, Pat has been anticipating heavenly reunions with several loved ones who preceded her in death, including: oldest sister and best friend, Cee Ann (Tom) Cleary; younger sister, Mary Ellen Shaw; daughter-in-law, Karen; granddaughter, Lucy; brothers-in-law Don, Pete, and John Maurer, and a number of brothers- and sisters-in-law from the Filip Family, among others.  

Friends will be received Saturday from 6 – 8 PM and Sunday from 2 – 4 and 6 – 8 PM at the R.D. Copeland Funeral Home, 981 Brodhead Road, Moon Twp. Prayers will be recited Tuesday at 9:15 AM at the Funeral Home followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM at St. Catherine of Sienna Church, Crescent, PA. If desired, contributions may be made to Good Samaritan Hospice, 3500 Brooktree Road, Suite 320, Wexford, PA 15090.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Patricia J. (Hickey) Maurer, please visit our floral store.