Patricia Jay Langley Lusvardi, born 19 September 1933, was
the cherished daughter of Ruby Marion Rainey Langley and Jay Walker Langley. After
years of longing to become parents, Ruby and Jay were blessed to adopt Pat, and
she became the joy of their lives.
When Pat was 5, her father passed away. Together, she and
her mother moved all over California, as her mother worked as a cook and a
housekeeper, and Pat attended over a dozen schools. Her humor, confidence, and
charisma won her devoted friends everywhere she went. Many of those friendships she cultivated throughout
her life. One of her great joys was staying in touch with her girlhood friends
from Pasadena. Later in life they met together every year, and named their
group “The Little Old Ladies of Pasadena”.
Pat met her husband, Reuben Alcedi Lusvardi on her first day
of work at a Ralph’s supermarket in Arcadia, California. They became close
friends, and later fell in love. They married in Pasadena in her mother’s home on
June 23, 1953.
After two years of military service and moving all over the
country, they returned to their native California, moved into their first
house, and started to grow their family. In 1957 their first son Mark was born,
and was followed 5 years later with a second son, David. The family moved several times, but stuck to
their roots and remained in California.
The friendship that began in Ralph’s supermarket, lasted
over 60 years. From it has come 2 children, 8 grandchildren, and 5 great
grandchildren. Pat has served her family immeasurably over the years as a mother,
grandmother, and great grandmother.
One of the great challenges of Pat’s life was her struggle
with her physical health. At the age of 13, she contracted rheumatic fever. The
illness weakened her greatly and kept her out of school for a year. After
returning to school, there were concerns that she would not be able to keep up
with her classmates. She was required to take an assessment test, and did so
well that it was recommended she skip ahead two grades.
Although Pat’s sharp mind was not inhibited by her illness,
for the rest of her life she suffered an array of health problems that stemmed
from this early episode. Tenacious as she was, Pat did not allow these
difficulties to keep her from seeing the world. She and Reuben traveled Europe
several times, along with Russia, Iceland, Canada, Mexico, South America, and
the Caribbean.
With this same determination she taught herself many skills
that she was not fortunate enough to be exposed to earlier in life. She taught
herself how to play the piano by ear and compose music and lyrics. She also
cultivated a great gift for singing and writing poetry.
Pat was proud of her pioneer heritage and for over 50 years
was an active member serving in leadership positions of the organization
“Daughter of the Utah Pioneers”.
She was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, and all her life served faithfully helping her fellow church
members and many others in her community.
After struggling for over 60 years with her health, Pat
passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 18, 2014 in Placerville,
California. Her family and many dear friends will miss her cheerful telephone
calls, thoughtful cards, and genuine words of love and encouragement.
