Patricia Paul

Suddenly on Saturday August 24th, 2024 Patricia Denise Paul (Patti) aged 70 of Dundalk, Maryland went to be with our Lord.

Patti was born in Baltimore, Maryland to her late parents Willis and Alma Paul. She graduated in 1972 from Patapsco High School and from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1977 with a B.A. in Education/History.

As a local historian and a descendent of the Stansbury family, Patti was deeply involved in many community projects related to preserving the important story of the Battle of North Point during the War of 1812. Her work helped the community learn about the key role local citizens played during the battle. She championed Defender's Day activities designed to inspire others to explore the area's rich local history. Most recently, she worked on a special project, the Preservation Planning Grant for Interpreting Baltimore Battlefield of North Point from the American Battlefield Protection Program. The goal of the grant was to share the prominent role of the Battle of North Point in defending Baltimore by performing historic research and creating an interpretive trail. Beyond being a source of community pride and cohesion, she and others hoped that the proposed trail would support tourism while serving as an important recreational amenity and educational resource for local schools.

Patti had a special talent for caring for God's many creatures. The small beloved and sweet natured family dog Buddy was her shadow. He held a unique place in her heart. While a college student, she worked for several years in a local veterinary clinic, learning there how to care for sick and injured pets. She often found new homes for unwanted and abandoned animals. Neighborhood children would often place these wild creatures in the backyard without telling her, confident that she was the closest they could get to Dr. Doolittle and certain she would take care of them.

As an avid and enthusiastic environmentalist, she was interested in studying and learning as much as she could about the wonders of the natural world around her. As a Girl Scout, she was always ready for a camping trip with the troop. As a teenager, she jumped at the chance to take sailing lessons at a local park and giggled when she tipped the boat over. During a winter semester break she talked her sister into enrolling in a one-month skiing class offered at the community college. The plan was to get required Physical Education credits and it was great fun. One day, each student was required to traverse the beginner or bunny hill at Roundtop and stop with a plow movement. Patti came off the lift with so much speed that she raced down the hill picking up even more speed as she went along, finally crashing into the entire class huddled together and waiting for her at the bottom of the hill. She calmly stood up and pretended she would return to the lift line to do it again while the class roared with laughter. She was known as a good sport who enjoyed life's many surprises.

From a young age, Patti championed environmental causes important to local Dundalk residents. She nurtured and protected a large honeysuckle bush because it supported the local bee population in her yard. She was known to have a green thumb, one capable of rescuing sick plants and nurturing them back to health. Behind the scenes she administratively supported the local organization known as Clean Bread and Cheese Creek in volunteer efforts to clean up waterways feeding into the Chesapeake Bay. On her own initiative, she made it her mission to report the numbers of bags of trash collected by the volunteers and to allocate some to each school. This helped them to be awarded local government funding they could use for special projects.

With her death, the community has lost one of its greatest champions for preserving green spaces because she knew just how important this was to her Baltimore County neighborhood. Patti worked to have benches strategically placed at Stansbury Park so residents could have a place to sit and enjoy nature as they walked around the quarry. She requested tree planting at Stansbury Park.

Patti's degree in Education helped her launch a tutoring business. She was an expert at tutoring young scholars, helping many students to stay in school, learn about reading, science, math and to develop writing skills. Parents and educators sought her out whenever a student was struggling in a local school. Through her efforts alone, Patti helped many young people remain in school, change the trajectory of their academic experience and go on to become successful adults with unlimited career opportunities. Miss Patti, as the students knew her, taught students too numerous to count the skills they needed to turn a failing grade into academic success story. She relished hearing how their lives had turned out, and treasured the cards and visits that provided updates on her students.

Patricia is survived by her sister, Sharon Paul, brother David Paul, sister-in-law Kimberly Paul, nephew Jonathon Paul (Jon), and niece Kelli Paul. She loved her family and savored every card, photo or news of their lives. She enjoyed exchanging greeting cards with friends and family, always hand drawing her signature paw print as a symbol of her affection. Friends and family may call at Connelly Funeral Home 7110 Sollers Point Road Dundalk, Maryland 21222 on Thursday August 29 from 5-7 PM. Funeral Service will be held at Connelly at 1 PM. Interment to follow at Oaklawn Cemetery.