Patricia Stanton Kelso's Obituary
Patricia Stanton Kelso died at home in Oakland, CA on 5/27/2024 after a brief illness, with her life partner and daughter by her side.
Pat was born in Buffalo, NY on 11/21/1942 to Delbert Stanton and Eva (Hohl) Stanton. She was raised in Clarence, NY and was the eldest of three children. Her father built their house with the help of family and friends. Aunts, Uncles, and cousins gathered there every weekend in the summer for food and pool parties. Pat married her high school prom king and of course, she was the prom queen. Pat went to the School of Nursing at the University of Buffalo.
Pat moved to Wichita, Kansas with her husband Dennis Kelso and their daughter, Jenifer. In 1977, Pat became a member of the Homophile Alliance of Sedgwick County (HASC) and she became a regular speaker for the group. The group fought to add sexual orientation protection to the Wichita civil rights ordinance and they succeeded.
When her marriage ended, Pat ventured West in the late '70's and made California her home. She soon began working for the San Francisco Housing Authority as a career Housing Inspector. She particularly loved helping families find homes via the Section 8 program. After retirement and when in San Francisco, Pat would occasionally run into her ex-clients and was greeted with excitement and joy, which Pat returned. Seeing former clients was always a pleasure.
As a proud Democrat, Pat lived and breathed her values, some of which included protecting racial and social justice and reproductive rights, protecting civil rights, voting rights, workers' rights, and women's rights and pay equity. These and more were all part of Pat's core belief system.
Pat met her life partner, Pat Powers, while they were both doing one of their favorite things, country-western dancing. They fell in love and soon bought their forever home in Oakland, CA. Pat loved traveling and the two traveled all over the world, mostly with family and friends. Pat's favorite trips were trips shared with her daughter Jenifer and Pat's two beloved grandchildren.
Pat loved language, books, reading and everything associated with them. She was an avid supporter of Old Wives Tales bookstore, stepping in to cover shifts when she could, and proofreading every issue of the Feminist Bookstore News for a decade or more. Pat was also an excellent writer and was lucky enough to be part of a multi-generational writing group, The Backyard Writers Club, for the last 12 years of her life.
Pat is survived by her beloved life partner, Pat Powers, her adored daughter, Jenifer (John), 2 much loved grandchildren, Andrew and Emma, her dear sister Leah and brother Ross (Bonnie), 6 nieces and nephews and numerous cousins.
Private services were held with close family and friends. She will forever be in our hearts.
Donations to honor Pat can be made to milofoundation.org.
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