Patricia Jean Keneally Baum departed this life on March 14, 2016 at home of complications from multiple myeloma. She was born in San Francisco, California, July 22, 1936, the first of three children born to Henry and Dorothy Keneally.
She attended university in Arizona and received a BA in Art Education. Her first teaching job was in Morenci, Arizona. She then relocated to Fillmore, CA and taught Art and Special Education classes.
Pat married her soul mate, Stephen Baum, on June 25, 1977, and they spent thirty-seven wonderful years together. They taught together at Fillmore High School and enjoyed many shared interests: comic books, science fiction, opera, and Asian art. They delighted in each other and were as they coined it: two halves of a whole.
She and her husband, Stephen, were honored as the Homecoming Grand Marshalls of the Fillmore High School homecoming parade in 1989.
Patricia was very active at Fillmore High School, teaching special education and independent study. It was known that when Patricia prepared a student for a general education class, the student was more than ready to be a success even away from her tutelage. She was an advocate of students who could not speak for themselves and was a devoted teacher, always available for her “kids” even after their formal education ceased.
She was a proud and devoted member of Native Daughters of the Golden West, a charter member of the Fillmore Piru Environmental League, and a member of both the Fillmore Garden Club and the Ventura Doll Association. She was a bell ringer and played many years in the Bardsdale United Methodist Bell Choir. She was a founding member of a women’s group of twelve ladies who have met monthly for the past twenty-two years. She was a lifelong learner and among her varied interests took a woodshop class to build a grandfather’s clock, learned how to make and repair porcelain dolls, and took a class to build her own computer.
She is survived by her younger brother, Hank Keneally, of Phoenix, Arizona; sister-In-law Shirley Keneally, nephew Jon Ray Keneally, both of Mesa, Arizona; niece, Michelle Keneally Black of Phoenix Arizona; nephew, Brian Keneally of El Cajon, California; brother-in-law, Joseph Baum of Huntington, Indiana, sister-in-law, Dorothy Baum and nephew, David Baum both of Columbus, Ohio. She also leaves her two god-children: Heather Ondersma of Vancouver, Canada, and Christopher Ondersma of Ventura, California.
A special thanks goes to her caregivers: Sherri Cole, Sandy Arzate, and Joseph Zavala, who lovingly cared for her during her last months.
There will be a graveside service at 11:00 am on Monday, March 21st, at Bardsdale Cemetery. Following there will be a 12:00 luncheon in LeBard Hall of the Bardsdale United Methodist Church. Friends are invited to share reminiscences of Patricia’s life.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Patricia K. Baum Memorial Scholarship. Donations may be sent directly to the Fillmore Alumni association, P.O. Box 385, Fillmore, CA 93016. Donations may also be given to ASPCA at: ASPCA Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20077-7127.