Patricia Buchanan Moynahan, a reading specialist in the Pittsfield Public School system for 20 years and volunteer for adult literacy since retirement, died peacefully at the Kimball Farms Sunset Nursing home in Lenox on Thursday, September 5, 2024. She was born to Florence B. Dorsey and Alvin F. Buchanan on March 22, 1934, and grew up with seven siblings in the Peekskill, N.Y. home in which her father was born. The view of the Hudson River and Bear Mountain from the house affected her profoundly; the home was the site of family gatherings for decades.
Patricia attended Peekskill public schools, where she met her high school sweetheart, John Francis Moynahan. They married in 1956 at the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in Peekskill. They celebrated 68 years of marriage together on January 7, 2024. After a memorable few years living in Bermuda while John was stationed in the Air Force, they settled in Longmeadow, Mass. and then Pittsfield. They loved attending Tanglewood and listening to the concerts on the radio. Both enjoyed a wide circle of friends across Berkshire County and the Hudson Valley.
Patrica graduated from Oneonta State Teacher’s College (now SUNY Oneonta) and gained her master’s degree in education with a specialization in reading disabilities and writing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1987.
Patricia had a love for, and excellent knowledge of, birds, trees, and flowers and volunteered for years at the Berkshire Sanctuaries of the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Patricia was a member of the Berkshire County Literacy Volunteers and particularly enjoyed teaching adults how to read. She competed in master’s swimming events until late in her life, and she enjoyed tennis and golf. She was active in local politics and helped found the Women Empowering Neighborhoods (WHEN) movement in Pittsfield in the 1990s. At St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield, she found both a spiritual and musical home, and she enjoyed lending her marvelous alto voice to the choir. Patricia spent her last 10 years at Kimball Farms Life Care, surrounded by many old and close friends from Berkshire County and meeting many new ones. She was vice president of the Resident Association there and continued singing in the choir. Reading was her passion, and she read contemporary and classical fiction, poetry, and travel accounts avidly; she was reading and annotating poetry until the day before her death.
Patricia is survived by her husband John, and her sons and their spouses: John and Susie Moynahan (Elk Grove, Calif.), Pete and Charlotte Moynahan (Marietta, Ga.), Steve and Kelly Moynahan (Park City, Utah), and Greg Moynahan and Danielle Riou (Red Hook, N.Y.). She is also survived by their grandchildren, Connor, Neil, Jack, Chelsea, Kate, Rayne, Henry, and Philip, and her great-grandchildren, Madison and Albie. She is also survived by three sisters, Diana Dwyer (Mahopac, N.Y.), Brenda Bergman (Shelter Island, N.Y.), and Sharon Perlman (Lancaster, S.C.), and her brother William Buchanan (Santa Fe, N.M.). She is predeceased by her sister Lorna Zaia (Garden City, N.Y.) and two brothers, Alvin F. Buchanan (New York, N.Y.) and Jeffrey Buchanan (Katonah, N.Y.).
At Patricia’s request, there will be a celebration of life event on November 16, at Kimball Farms. Please contact Greg Moynahan at gmoynahan@gmail.com with any questions.
