Patricia
Ann (Healy) Whittle passed away Wednesday, September 21st after a long illness.
She was the daughter of Jere Christopher and Alyce Ruth Kelley Healy. With her
husband Chris, she owned The Collection, which she opened in 1975, and is
the oldest antiques shop in Tompkins County. Previously, she owned an
antiques business in Chicago in 1973.
She met her husband on board the Holland American Line,
SS
Rijndam II, traveling from NY to Europe in 1951.
They were married in 1952 in Heidelberg, Germany, where the first of seven
children, Candace Patricia was born. They moved to Ithaca in 1975 from
Chicago when Chris joined Cornell.
Mrs. Whittle was born in Passaic, NJ on January 1, 1928. She was a
graduate of Endicott College in Endicott, MA. Her proudest accomplishment was
being the mother of seven children; Candace Patricia Fraser (James) of Clarendon
Hills, IL; Peter Healy Whittle (Lucienne Aubert) of St. David’s, PA; Lauren
Whittle of San Carlos, CA; Christopher Sean Whittle (Eileen Lowry) of
Manchester, NH; Linda Alyce of Boston; Sara Elizabeth of Ithaca, and Thomas
Robert (Jodie Lee Stearns) of Ithaca, NY. She was the grandmother of Dan
Fraser of Duluth, MN (Moriah Brooks); Shannon Fraser of Clarendon Hills, IL;
Molly and Christopher both of Manchester, NH, and Kelsey Stearns and Dylan
Whittle of Ithaca, NY. One of her proudest moments was the birth of her great
grandson, Liam Fraser of Duluth, MN, son of Dan & Moriah Fraser. Her cousin
David Healy of Warrington, PA, also survives her, as well as Claud Young of
Houston, TX, whom is lovingly referred to as her 8th child and she as
his second Mom.
As a devout Catholic, she was a member of both the Immaculate Conception in
Ithaca and the Church of St. James the Apostle in Trumansburg for 36 years. Her
funeral Mass will be celebrated by Fr. John Tokaz, OFM Cap. at the Church of St.
James The Apostle and is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27th at
1:00pm. A reception in the parish hall will follow.
She will also be deeply missed by her constant companion, “Red,” her faithful
cat, who slept by her side during her long illness.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Hospicare of Tompkins County,
172 E. King Road, Ithaca, NY 14850.