Patricia Dombrink's Obituary
Patricia L. Dombrink
April 7, 1942—October 28, 2020
Patricia Louise Dombrink left our world unexpectedly on Wednesday afternoon, October 28, 2020. She had been ill since the imposition of the shelter-in-place on March 17, having spent more than 3 months in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. But her time came too quick.
“Patsy,” as she was known to her family and close friends, was born on April 7, 1942, at Summit Medical Center, the second daughter of Mary and Henry Dombrink, Jr. She grew up in Oakland, and lived her life there except for a 5-year period when she explored the world. She attended St. Elizabeth Elementary School and High School and went to Holy Names College, graduating in 1963. After teaching in the San Lorenzo School District for several years, she went to Boston University to study reading under Donald Durrell. From there she joined the Department of Defense school system, with her first assignment at Keflavik Air Base in Iceland as a reading specialist. After a year there she transferred to Aschaffenburg Germany for a year and then to Izmir Turkey for two years, where she met her future husband, Jeff Green.
On returning to Oakland, she picked up where she left off with the San Lorenzo School District, where she taught for the next 35 years, while also being a mom to her son Christopher and her daughter Meghan. In her “spare time,” Pat wrote newspaper articles, book reviews and had published over 200 puzzles and games for young children. Her articles appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Christian Science Monitor and other national and local publications.
Along with spelling, Pat was renown for her interest in and devotion to books. You could never go wrong giving Pat a book for a birthday. The first thing she did: open the book and press her face in it to take in its scent. Her niece, Mary, always appreciated that Pat would query her and her son to find out what he was reading and then go looking for just the right book to expand and enhance his knowledge: this was her pattern of life. Her generosity was noteworthy.
Pat enjoyed travel: from the San Juan Islands of Washington state, to the East Coast of Canada’s Maritime provinces; from the frozen reaches of Iceland to the sunny beaches of Turkey. We returned to Iceland in 2006, only to find that they were closing the base within the next 3 months. We continued to return to Iceland, visiting 6 times total, with the last visit in 2017, with two good friends from her initial assignment in 1969, a teacher and a then-young navy officer. In 2012, she travelled to Cyprus to visit her daughter who worked there for a year on a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship and then a week in Izmir, Turkey to re-visit favorite places.
In Oakland, she continued teaching, joining the teaching honorary, Delta Kappa Gamma, and joined a women’s faith group, “Women in God’s Spirit” (WinGS) of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church. Pat was a long-time parishioner of Corpus Christi Church in Piedmont, where her father made the stained glass windows.
She is survived by her husband, Jeff Green, son Christopher Green (Meredith Dodson), daughter Meghan Dombrink-Green (Kyle Anderson) and grandchildren, Sean and Iris Dodson-Green and Fiona Anderson. She is also survived by her dear sisters Mary Ann Dombrink-Kurtzman, Chicago; and Kathleen Dombrink, St. Louis, MO; and brother John Dombrink (Maya) of Laguna Beach. She was predeceased by her older brother Henry Dombrink, who died of spina bifida while an infant in 1940.
Visitation will be held Thursday evening, Nov. 19, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes (vigil service at 6:00 p.m.) and services will be Friday morning, Nov. 20 at 11:00 a.m. at Corpus Christi Church. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions: East Bay Reading group found by Meghan
To ensure the health and safety of our community, we are following all guidelines set by local, state and CDC officials. If you are planning on attending a service, please contact the funeral home in advance, so that we can plan accordingly.
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