Patricia Shiel (neé McTigue) was born on October 12, 1937, and passed away peacefully in her sleep the morning of October 11, 2023, a few hours shy of her 86th birthday.  Born to Irish immigrants Patrick McTigue and Mary Ellen McTigue (neé Mullen) in the Bronx, her visit to Ireland when she was 22 months old turned into an extended stay due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.  Fearing that the returning ships may be torpedoed, her parents placed Patricia into the care of her grandparents who raised her in rural Mayo.  Her primary education was taught in English and Gaelic.  She returned to the U.S. when she was 13 and began high school at St. Nicholas of Tolentine in the Bronx.  Upon graduation, she attended Hunter College and was employed by the retail and banking industries in lower Manhattan.

Patricia made two memorable airplane trips to Europe in the 1950s, the first when she was 17 years old, and the second with her best high school friend Betty Gallery (later Magretti) where she encountered a dashing young Patrick Shiel who at that time won her heart.  Upon returning to the U.S., Patrick followed her and they were married in 1959 in NY.  Patricia raised her growing family while Patrick ran a successful Citröen automobile dealership, first in Yonkers and later in Mount Kisco.

Later, Patricia was instrumental in running the family auto service business in Beacon, NY after which she joined ICF, a furniture manufacturer and distributor in Valley Cottage and later Taftville, Connecticut.  Upon retirement, Patricia moved to Oswego where she resided for the rest of her life.

Though she was a career woman for the latter part of her life, Patricia was first and foremost a family person.  Although an only surviving child to her parents, she cherished the frequent gatherings of her gargantuan family, as well as raising her five children whose friends and their parents became her fast friends on 'the block'; Jean Lane in New City, NY.  The block became a haven from the tumultuous 1960's and 1970's and was punctuated by the frequent family trips back to Ireland during this time.  That was the time Patricia recalled best when describing her life.

Patricia is predeceased by her parents, her 18 aunts and uncles and their spouses, many of her 44 first cousins, and Patrick Shiel, her separated husband.  She is survived by her five children; sons Patrick and his wife Mary O'Loughlin Shiel of North Carolina, Michael and his ex-wife Anita Avery of Oswego and daughters Maureen of Sandy Pond, NY, Eileen and her husband W. David Herman of Oregon, and Catherine Ann and her husband Kenneth Warger of Colorado.  She is also survived by her six grandchildren; Dylan in Connecticut, Ryan, Maggie Imparato-Shiel and Maggie's husband Brian in North Carolina, Kieran in Colorado, Cora and Liam in Oswego.  In addition, she is survived by her sisters-in-law Mary Francis Morrisroe, Sally Shiel, Josephine Cawley and her husband Jim in Ireland, Bridget Robinson in Canada and Cathleen Cherry in New Jersey, as well as her first cousins, including: Camille, Francis and Eugene Rizzo, Michael and Sister Patricia Mullen, Patsy (Reynolds) Felipe, Robert, Geraldine and Joan McTigue, and Denny Walsh.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Jude's Children's Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html or your local animal shelter.

Services to be held Friday, 20 OCT from 4-7 pm at:

Michael J. Higgins Funeral Home

321 S. Main Street

New City, NY 10956

Burial on Saturday, 21 OCT following a 10 am service at:

Gate of Heaven Cemetery

Hawthorne, NY