Patricia Anne Smith

Patricia Anne Smith, 70, of Richmond, CA, beloved wife of Paul D. Werner, daughter of the late Marcus J. and Carol K. Smith, sister of Frederick, Peter (Aida Castilleja), and Andrew (Claire Lozier) Smith, and aunt of Arielle Smith, Holly Smith, Luciano Carrara Castilleja, Emilia Carrara Castilleja, and Julian Marcus Smith Castilleja, passed away from cancer on December 12, 2017.

Patricia grew up in Santa Fe, NM, graduated from Santa Fe High School, and attended Grinnell College, where she majored in English. She received an MSW in rehabilitation counseling at the University of New Mexico and worked as a caseworker in Albuquerque for two years.

Patricia moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1976. After spending a few years as a struggling free-lance writer and temporary office worker, she had a 32-year career as a technical writer for companies that included Crocker Bank, System One, Informix, and IBM. She volunteered with several non-profit organizations, including Friends of the El Cerrito Library and WriterCoach Connection.

Patricia was an avid reader, and she loved and supported music, theater, and art programs. She frequented art museums and attended concerts, operas, plays, and musicals wherever she lived and traveled. She also enjoyed walking and discovering new vistas, in both urban settings and parks.

Patricia was gentle, intelligent, well-read, clear, articulate and unpretentious; a sea of calm in a world of chaos, and as pure, pleasant, generous, and unaffected a soul as one could ever hope to meet. In this way she spread her grace wherever she moved.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Southern Poverty Law Center, or to an environmental organization or charity of your choice.