A long-time member of our Committee died on February 16, 2024: Patience Wales. She was 89.

Patience was in the “life member” category as she’d been on the Committee for more
than 20 years. She was the person who instigated our annual Call to Action Breakfasts 15 years ago. Amazingly, she was emailing with us breakfast planners two weeks before she died, keeping us on task and on time. She also spearheaded the wine-tasting fundraisers we had for years, along with her friend Sherry.

Her step-daughter and many of her friends attended our March 2024 breakfast—even people from out-of-town who have come to this breakfast for years because Patience forced them to buy a ticket. 

 

She was funny, well-informed, very opinionated, and had tons of energy. Just yesterday, one of our past members said to me: “Patience was the reason I joined the Committee. I walked into the election headquarters and she was so enthusiastic!”
 

Patience was forthright. She was very forceful, often impatient. She was very partisan in every aspect of her life. I remember when she learned that her dentist was a
Republican—she immediately found a new dentist.
 

She knit many of us together socially. And she, more than anyone, brought us back to
our mission: to get Democrats elected! When we learned that she had died, another
friend said to me, “I’m sure she is furious that she will not be able to vote Democratic
in November.” 

 

-Diane Young