Patricia Doerr

July 2, 1955 - Jan. 16, 2025

Patricia Magdalene Doerr (née DeBaldo), age 69, of Milford, Michigan, passed away on January 16, 2025, at Ascension-Providence Hospital in Novi, Michigan. Born on July 2, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan, Patricia was the daughter of James Frederick DeBaldo and Frances Loretta Bresinski. She grew up in River Rouge, Michigan, amid a large and close-knit family that included six sisters and a brother – Karyn, Kathryn, Terese, Kristine, Paulette, Elizabeth, and Daniel. Pat was a beloved mother, daughter, sibling, spouse, friend, colleague, and teacher. On meeting her for the first time a friend said, “I felt immediately welcomed by her warm nature,” and “she made me feel like I had known her forever.” To a close friend who knew her well, she was “the loveliest and kindest friend a person could have.” Colleagues knew Pat as “a wonderful woman,” and a “dedicated and caring nursing educator.” Students found Pat to be “an amazing clinical instructor” and “nurse with a huge heart.” As her daughter, Sophia says “to me, mom was the wind beneath my wings - constantly there to support and love me and had one of the most giving natures I had ever known.” And if you were the luckiest man, she might have been your loving wife, companion, and partner, someone you had fun with, who challenged and inspired you, and with whom you raised wonderful children. As a friend succinctly put it, “Pat was a treasure!” When Pat was young, she saw her most important role in her large family as Momma’s helper. At the age of 6 years old while “helping” her mother with Easter eggs, Pat suffered severe burns, landing her in the hospital for several months. She credited her experience in the hospital and her Momma’s helper role with her desire to pursue a career in nursing. Pat attended Our Lady of Lourdes Parish school in River Rouge from first grade through her high school senior year. She married in October 1973 and bore her first child, Gragory, late the following year, but the marriage ended in divorce in early 1979. Meanwhile, Pat had been working as cook and meal planner for a marriage encounter organization in Pontiac, Michigan. She also enrolled at Wayne County Community College and earned her Associate of Science Degree in Nursing in December 1980. Pat began her career as a Nurse Technician at Lynn Hospital and then as a Staff Nurse at Wyandotte Hospital. She was soon employed at Hutzel Hospital as a Staff Nurse in Postpartum Care, Neonatal Intensive Care, and Maternal Special Intensive Care. During this time as a single mom, she was also enrolled at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Nursing. By the time Grag reached high school age, she was able to set aside enough of her earnings to enroll him at Gabriel Richard Catholic High School. In March 1987, Pat and David Doerr met through a Detroit area dating service and immediately hit it off. Pat graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy in May with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, obtained a Registered Nurse License, and began a new job as an Emergency Room Staff Nurse at Detroit Receiving Hospital. Later that year she began work at Henry Ford Hospital as a critical care nurse in Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care. Pat and David married in 1989 and began their new life together with Grag on Bellingham Street in Canton. After their son, Paul, was born they moved to Milford in 1993. Pat continued to broaden her nursing experience with a new position at the University of Michigan Hospital in the Trauma Burn Center. Sophia was born in 1995, and they spent the following child-raising years involved in education, scouting, dance lessons, music lessons, marching band, robotics, and color guard. Summers were spent travelling across the country in their travel trailer to Kentucky, Florida, California, Maine, Washington State, and many places in between. In 1997, Pat found work closer to home at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, beginning in the Emergency Room and later transferring to Labor and Delivery. Then, while starting work on a master’s degree at Michigan State University, she took a position at a Milford primary care practice as a pediatric nurse. Continuing work on her degree, she served as an adjunct faculty member at St. Clair and Oakland Community Colleges, teaching med-surg and maternal-child clinical groups. Finally, in May 2008, she received her Master of Science in Nursing Education. Having earned the necessary credentials, she was hired by Michigan State University as a Full-Time Fixed Term Faculty member. She spent the following years teaching nursing on campus, at Sparrow Hospital, Mott Children’s Hospital, Beaumont Hospital, and Oakland Community College. Pat also served as a Registered Nurse Care Manager with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in her years just before retirement. Pat and David both retired in 2019, remaining in Milford for the time being, but planned to move closer to their grown children and future grandchildren. They liked to travel, taking many trips to visit and travel with Paul and his spouse Alwyna in California, and visiting Sophia when she was enrolled in college in Maryland and later in Wisconsin when she started medical school. They celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary with a vacation travelling around the United Kingdom and France, and their thirty-fifth anniversary with a vacation in Italy, where Pat’s grandfather was born. Pat liked to spend her retirement cooking adventurous dinners, baking many platefuls of Christmas cookies, and expertly decorating cakes. Coulibiac, her delicious special creation, was a Christmas eve tradition, eagerly anticipated by family members. She enjoyed reading and constantly had a book open. Pat also prioritized her wellness and was proud of achieving her weekly goal of finishing early morning runs at Kensington Park multiple times a week, often running more than ten miles at a time. Outside of cooking and running, Pat had a creative side and was fond of ceramics and jewelry making. She had an abundant social life and loved visiting or phoning family and friends. She is survived by her beloved family, husband David Doerr, sons Gragory Douglas and Paul (Alwyna) Doerr, daughter Sophia (Maximilian Zinkus) Doerr, grandchildren Giles Douglas, Aya Douglas, sisters Terese (Mark) Steffensky, Kristine (the late Thomas) Consiglio, Paulette (Anthony) Janis, brother Daniel DeBaldo, many nieces and nephews, and companion Amadeus Da Capo. She was preceded in death by parents James and Frances, three sisters Karyn DeBaldo, Kathryn Hoss, and Elizabeth Thode, and companion Amadeus Il Vecchio. We will always carry your memory in our hearts. Visitation and memorial service will be held at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 404 East Liberty, Milford, Michigan 48381 on Saturday, March 29 at 1:00PM.