Patricia Mercer Stanton

Patricia Mercer Stanton, 94, of Portland, passed away peacefully on May 8, 2022, after a short stay at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, in Scarborough, Maine.

Mom was born on November 18,1927 in New Haven, CT, the oldest child of Romon Gale Mercer and Ann (Tennyson) Mercer.

She attended schools in New Haven and Madison, CT, as well as the University of Connecticut, in Storrs. She worked as a window display designer, merchandiser, and buyer for Esther’s, a women’s clothing store on Temple Street in New Haven. In 1955, she married William Stanton, also of New Haven. Over their 64 years of marriage, they raised their family in the New Haven area, eventually settling in Orange, CT for 38 years. In 2005, they relocated to Portland, ME.

A woman of many passions and pursuits, Mom made her world beautiful for herself and those around her. She was an avid gardener, equally at home with flowers, vegetables or rocks, creating eye-catching landscapes and arrangements wherever she lived. Mom was also an adventurous cook, making food from Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Middle East in the 1960s and ‘70s, long before you could find restaurants with those cuisines in most American cities. For many years, she was active with the League of Women Voters, as well as with Project Concern, a regional effort to integrate Connecticut’s segregated schools and suburbs.

To describe her as a homemaker would be an injustice; Mom was the heart of the home. She filled it with life, love, laughter and a seemingly endless parade of desserts. She had an eye for detail and kept her world spotless and organized just so. She washed her bath towels every day, and your glass when you were still drinking from it. Her closet was arranged by color. Mom’s car on the other hand, was thick with dog hair and the windows obscured by nose prints. We can’t explain this appalling interior, nor can we account for the exterior scrapes and dents. The family expresses regret to any damaged parties, but notes that surely the statute of limitations has passed.

Those who knew Mom, whether for a brief time or longer, would describe her as fiery and a force to be reckoned with. Her intelligence, wit, love, and ire sparked like electricity, lighting up the room, impossible to ignore. Her beautiful expressive blue eyes sparkled and flashed, but in a flicker of a moment, could burst into laser beams, searing everyone and everything in the room.

Patricia Stanton is survived by her three sons: Jeffrey, his wife, Guiseppina Palma, of Woodbridge, CT; and their children, Flavia and Giancarlo, and his wife, Emma, David, his wife, Ann, of Scarborough; and their children, Haley and Sam, and Peter, his wife, Sara Freedman, of South Portland, ME; and their children, Eliot and Julia; her sister, Roma Gale Howland, her husband Paul Balcom Howland, of Warwick, RI; and their children, Bruce, Jessica, and Jonathan. She was predeceased by her husband, William Stanton, and her sister, Emily Louise Mercer and her partner, Sally Nelson, of Storrs, CT.

Like her late husband, Bill, Patricia was no fan of funerals but would rather that in her memory, you cook a meal for loved ones or plant some flowers. The family requests that you direct any donations to Hospice of Southern Maine, Scarborough, ME.

To share memories of Patricia or to leave the family an online condolence please visit, www.athutchins.com