SONNET PATRICIA A. 62, of Franklin, PA, passed away on January 3, 2014, surrounded by her family at her beloved home on Buttermilk Hill, after a valiant fight against pancreatic cancer. Born August 1, 1951, she was the daughter of the late Thomas D. and Mary Grace Milton Lynch. Patty was a graduate of North Hills High School, Penn State University, and the University of Northern Colorado, where she received her Master's degree in education and library science. In 1972, Patty married the love of her life and constant companion for over 42 years, Richard A. Sonnet. Patty was an adventurer and outdoor enthusiast. She and her husband lived in Colorado and Wyoming where they skied and backpacked, fishing the streams and lakes of the Rocky Mountains. She climbed Devil's Tower, and once skied out of the back-country with a broken clavicle. She and her husband bike packed the Hawaiian Islands, the Netherlands, the south of France, and the Carpathian Alps of Romania on a trip from Vienna to Bucharest. She was an avid scuba diver when living near the South China Sea. During an assignment in Honduras with the Peace Corps, where she and her husband worked as teacher trainers, Patty became a Spanish speaker, and was instrumental in establishing the first national preschool teacher conferences in that country. During her professional life, she lived in eight countries overseas while teaching in American and international schools in Romania, Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, Morocco, China, and Venezuela. She was significant in developing libraries in the schools in each of those countries. While living overseas for 30 years, Patty and her husband purchased and worked passionately at their cherished woodland home outside of Franklin, PA when they returned to the United States each summer. Patty was a devoted woods person and gardener. After retirement, she spent every day gardening, working in the woodlot, reading or skiing in the winter. However, the loves of her life were her children. She is survived by her daughters, Jasmin Sonnet of Las Vegas and Aliya Sonnet Anthes (Ananth) of Pittsburgh; and a son, Luke Sonnet, currently at UCLA. Along with her parents, Patty was preceded in death by her sister, Rosemary Lynch Quigley. She is survived by her sisters, Mary Grace Lynch Lippert of Meadville, PA, Helen Lynch of Pittsburgh, and Mariann Lynch of Broad Run, VA. Friends will be received at The Commons, Liberty Street, Franklin, PA, Saturday, January 11, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for a memorial luncheon. The family suggests that memorials be made to Save the Children, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, or the Franklin Public Library, Franklin, PA in Patty's name. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the TIMOTHY E. HARTLE FUNERAL HOME, 1328 Elk Street, Franklin, PA. Please visit: www.hartlefuneralhome.com for further information and to leave your personal note of condolence. Send condolences at post-gazette.com/gb
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