Obituary of Constance A. Van Patten

Constance A "Connie" Van Patten, 51, of Preble passed away August 18, 2009 in Syracuse. Connie was born January 21, 1958 in Syracuse the daughter of Kurt and Mary Jane Kiesinger Schwock. Connie was a loving wife, mother, sister grandmother and aunt and will be greatly missed by all. Thanks to her strong admiration to her family and friends, she was able to fulfill her dreams of her barn filled with alpacas and goats, She looked forward to each years alpaca open house shared with her family and many friends. Connie enjoyed gardening, antique shopping and baking cookies for her family and friends. Connie is survived by her husband Bruce Van Patten of Preble, her mother Mary Jane Schwock of Syracuse, her children Matthew Preston of Phoenix, NY , Meghan Preston of Cortland, Tonya (Ken) VanSlyke of King Ferry, Steve Van Patten of Preble, Lynn Van Patten of Preble , her sisters Karen Burnett of Syracuse, Kim Schwock of Hopewell, VA, Kyle (Tom) Schneider of Marne ,MI her brother George (BJ) Rose of Mission TX, grandchildren Kyle VanSlyke, Kolby VanSlyke, several nieces, nephews, cousins, and loving canine companion Moose. Calling hours will be Thursday 4-7 pm at Wright-Beard Funeral Home Inc. 9 Lincoln Ave. Cortland NY, 13045 A funeral service will be held Friday 10 am at Wright-Beard Funeral Home Inc., with burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery, Preble NY. Contributions may be made to the America Cancer Society, 13 Beach St., Johnson City NY, 13790 Sorry about your lost. Our Prayers are with you all. I've lost my mother last year to cancer.Its a real battle we know. However,Connie is in good hands now and in a better place. Keep your chin up . You will someday meet again Love , Connie's nephew Kevin and wife Kathy Rose am deeply sorry for your loss. We really miss Connie here in the office. I always enjoyed her alpaca stories and photos and will remember her fondly. Lisa Procanick Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire family. From Sharon and Marlene Rose I am terribly, terribly saddened to hear the news of Connie's passing. I hired Connie as a business analyst while at Gaylord Information Systems, and found her intelligence, wit, generosity and hearty laugh to be an uncomparable combination. I was warmed to learn of her realizing her dream of raising alpcas, and still have her Christmas card of a stylishly groomed alpaca hanging on my office wall to add levity to my day. Connie left a lasting impression, and will be sorely missed. My sincerest condolences to the family. Diane Z. Bednarski I worked with Connie at University Hospital & had knitted some alpaca slippers for her shop. She was a wonderful person, always smiling and had a great laugh. I'm glad I had the chance to know & work with such a person. I'm very sorry for your loss, my thoughts and prayers are your family. Kristen Golden ): Bruce, Megan, family and friends, I can't express how sadden I am for your loss, and mine as well. Connie was a real sweetheart and loving person. I regret not getting to know her sooner. She will be missed by me. God Bless you and rest in peace Connie. Ann Dorward My heart goes out to the family of Connie, she was a loved member of our office family and will be greatly missed. I enjoyed our coupon sharing for clothes and the many delightful stories of her beloved Alpaca's, I offer my sympathy and prayers to all of you in this difficult and sorrow filled time. Diane Belanger I am deeply saddened by the news of Connie's passing. My prayers are with you all. Connie will be greatly missed by all of us here in Financial Services, at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Susan Potter You never know how you will learn some of life's lessons. Mine came in the form of a friend. A woman who showed me what dignity, strength, and courage is all about. A woman who above all her adversities showed me how to life..not how to die. I haven't the right to question why this was to happen to her. She showed me that in the grand scheme of things..what really matters. I have loved you since I met you in 7th grade and I will miss you dearly my sweet friend. Linda Osborne I was very sorry to hear of Connie's passing. I worked with Connie at MONY in the Compensation dept and I saw her at all the antique shows while she was antique shopping. Marilyn Bulriss Bruce, I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family. Mary Dillon I am so very sorry for your loss. Connie was my supervisor here at Upstate. She was always positive, supportive and a wonderful person to work with and for. She will be greatly missed by all who had the good fortune to know and work with her. Michelle Anderson am so sorry to hear of your lost. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Janice Fowlkes I am so sorry to hear of your family's loss, Bruce. Your family is in my thoughts and prayers. Mary (Nadge)Brewer Kim I am sorry to hear of the passing of your sister ,you and your family are in my prayers. Joe Coleman Please accept my sincere sympathy in the loss of Connie. I have had the pleasure of knowing Connie since the 7th grade. Many of my best memories are the ones with Connie and the girls at her house at pool parties and slumber parties. She was a wonderful, sweet, gentile person with a great laugh. She will be missed. Rest in peace dear Connie. Kris Spagnola Gonzalez Bruce and Family, I was heartbroken to hear this news. I'm the gal who bought her last two alpacas, Julia and Hope. We recently got Julia back from the breeder, and the day she died, I was hosing down the alpacas to cool them off, and Julia got right in there to get wet. Connie came to mind at that moment, and I was going to send her a note to update her. It's comforting to believe that Connie was there with me in spirit that day and knew her girls would be okay. My prayers and thoughts go with you for continued strength during this difficult time. All my best, Beth Phelps Bruce, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your wife, Connie. I don't think that I ever met her but she sounds like she was a lovely person. Just know that others are thinking of you and your family at this very sad time. Barb Tyler Toomey I was so saddened to hear of Connie's passing. Although we had lost touch long ago, Connie will always be an important part of my history. I will always cherish the memories of her slumber parties back in junior high school. Her laughter was contagious and she had a great wit. Her friendship knew no bounds. My sympathy to her family. Peggy Simmons Thinking of you Karen, and your family phyllis Yardley Our sincerest sympathies. Jay Imbesi and The Headquarters Salon Kim, I wanted to take a moment to say that I am praying for you and your family. It not easy to understand when someone we love move to the next level of this thing we call "life" but, God knows what is in store for us and, He promised it would be more and better than we could even imagine. BJ Richardson learned just today of my friend's passing.... I also learned that she'd married Greg and had had a wonderful though all to short life with Greg and their blended family. I surely will miss Connie terribly so. Yet, thinking of her brings smiles to my face when I think she really did marry a farmer! Oh, sweet happiness she had! Too all members of her family and friends, I share your sadness in that sweet Connie is not here wordly with us. I will remember meeting Connie for the first time at the Jolly Roger for starting country dance lessons. The three sisters were standing on the dance floor waiting on the bashful young men standing at the bar to offer to couple up for lessons. My friend Bill, and I either got courage or were dragged onto the dance floor by Connie and Kim. I like to think we all shared a very special friendship ever since. My friend is now gone but will live on in my memory. Love ya, Connie! Dennis Edwards