Patricia Kauser

August 28, 1928 - December 4, 2022

Patricia Lou Murray Kauser, 94, a proud third generation San Franciscan, passed away on December 4, 2022 following a medically challenging seven months. She was born to Frank Murray and Lulu Hallin Murray in St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco on August 26, 1928. After living her first years in Murray Park (now part of Kentfield in Marin County), she moved to the Mission District in San Francisco. She attended St. James Elementary School and graduated from Immaculate Conception Academy in 1946 with 10 other classmates named Pat. She admired and respected her Dominican teachers and remained a devout Catholic throughout her life. While at ICA, she endured a serious, ground-breaking surgery for scoliosis at SF General Hospital, one of the first surgeries of its kind.

Pat attended City College of San Francisco, where she met her husband, Theodore Kauser, and they married in 1950 at St. James Church. Ever witty and positive, Pat raised two children with Ted and worked in many charitable and meaningful jobs. She helped to resettle Cuban immigrants in the early 1960’s with Catholic Charities; she served as secretary to Father Francis Quinn (later Bishop of Sacramento), editor of the Catholic Newspaper, The Monitor. She was active in Holy Name School parent activities, and made many friends there. Pat also devoted herself to ARC, a non-profit that worked with intellectually disadvantaged children and took great joy in working with the staff and getting to know the children. After moving to Belmont, she became a secretary at College of Notre Dame, and once again delighted in working with students from around the world.

Pat and Ted enjoyed traveling to England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria. She had many fond memories of their cruises and their trips to many states in the US, including Hawaii. And of course, there were regularly scheduled trips to Disneyland, aka “Headquarters”. Later in life, Pat visited Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey.

A loving mother with a great sense of humor, buoyed by her faith, she always wanted the best for her family, and placed great value on education. In her later years she and Ted lived in Fair Oaks, where she volunteered as a reading aid in the local elementary school and was a part of the Mercy Hospital Auxiliary. After Ted’s passing in 1997, she lived in Belmont and in West Sacramento. She moved to Encinitas in 2019, where she passed away at Westmont Senior Living.

Pat is survived by her children, Karen Ziebron (Bill), of Carlsbad and Robert Kauser of San Mateo. She adored her granddaughters, Elizabeth Johnson (Patrick), Melissa Buckley (Joseph), Hallie Akchurin (Daniel) and Samantha Kauser. Pat was happy to know and play with her great grandchildren, Maeve Buckley, Finola Buckley, Theodore Johnson and Archer Johnson, all of Carlsbad. Her family is grateful for the affectionate and attentive care of the staff at Westmont Senior Living and Blessed Hope Hospice, who made her final days peaceful.

A Mass to celebrate Pat’s life will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at 2:00 pm at St. James and St. Leo Catholic Community, 625 S. Nardo Avenue in Solana Beach, CA. A reception will follow at Cape Rey Hotel, 1 Ponto Road, Carlsbad. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to Immaculate Conception Cristo Rey Academy, Mission Advancement, 3625 24th Street, San Francisco, 94110.