Patricia Farrant of Iowa City, widow of Thomas Gartland, died at Crestview Specialty Care in West Branch on March 25, 2026 at the age of 83.  She was born on July 16, 1942 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the eldest of five daughters of William and Winifred Farrant.

After graduating from Holy Family Academy in Bayonne, New Jersey, she worked for three years as an executive secretary in Manhattan. She then enrolled at Rockford College in Illinois and, as it turned out, would live happily in the Midwest for the rest of her life. She received a BA (Phi Beta Kappa) from Rockford, an MA (Ford Fellow) at the University of Chicago and a PhD (Teaching-Research Fellow) at the University of Iowa.

Pat had a long and rewarding career at American College Testing in Iowa City, starting out as a research assistant and going on to become Editor/Writer, Director of Publications and Vice President for Marketing and Communications. She successfully brought many complex projects to fruition and was always valued by her co-workers for her collegiality, unassuming competence, patient and skillful mentoring, and sense of humor.

As an independent scholar, she wrote about women in higher education, personal narratives by survivors of the Nazi death camps and the role of the intellectual in society.  She was on the board of the National Association for Women in Education and edited their award-winning journal Initiatives for seventeen years.  She was past president of the National Coalition of Independent Scholars and edited their quarterly The Independent Scholar.

Pat's involvement in civic life included being a founding member of the first Police Citizens Review Board in Iowa, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, and member of the parole board. She was active in Big Brothers/Big Sisters and was an affectionate Big Sister to Chary.

Pat's enduring passion was promoting animal welfare. She was a founding member and longtime officer of the Johnson County Humane Society. No task seemed too daunting to her. She managed a large spay/neuter project, wrote grant proposals, solicited donations, and opened her home to many difficult-to-place cats.  For six years, she also chaired the first urban deer management task force in Iowa.

With her sister Winnie, she traveled extensively in Italy from the Alpine Lakes to the ruins of Pompei. Other special trips took her to Beijing with a delegation of educators to attend the Sino-American Conference on Women’s Issues in 1990 and into the interior of Papua New Guinea.

She put her travels on hold to assist her mother during her final years.

In her spare time, Pat enjoyed reading, gardening and listening to Irish music.

Pat was preceded in death by her beloved husband and her parents.  She is survived by her sisters Winifred Bevilacqua of Arona, Italy, Eugenie Sauer of Red Bank, New Jersey, Mary Farrant of San Francisco and Josephine Shenk of Chatham, New Jersey.

Pat’s family would like to thank Mary Grimm for offering Pat presence, prayer and constant affection during her long decline.  They would also like to acknowledge the warmth of the staff at Crestview.

Funeral mass will be celebrated 10:00 A.M. Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church, 228 East Jefferson St., Iowa City, Iowa 52246.

Interment will be in Oakland Cemetery, Iowa City.