Patricia Lee Colstad (née Gorman), born May 8, 1936, in Brooklyn, New York, to Leo R. and Marguerite Gorman, passed away peacefully at the age of 89, surrounded by her family. To all who knew her, Pat was the embodiment of kindness. As her brother Jim lovingly said, she was “the best big Sister in the world,” and to her granddaughter Christine, she was “the best Grandmother in the world.” Pat greeted everyone—friend or stranger—with a warm smile and a sincere compliment, making people feel seen and valued within moments.

Pat’s early years were marked by hardship. After losing her mother, who was just 28, Pat faced a difficult road that included foster care and working from a young age to help keep herself and her two brothers together. These experiences shaped her resilience, compassion, and unwavering empathy for others. Born in Manhattan and raised in Flatbush, she carried her New York roots proudly and could slip into her Brooklyn accent with instant charm and humor.

She began her career at The Equitable in New York City, where she enjoyed the camaraderie of many Brooklyn friends. While on vacation in Virginia Beach, Pat met the love of her life, Henry Willard Colstad, a Navy man. They married shortly after his honorable discharge in 1956 and moved to the Boston area, where Henry pursued his engineering degree and they began their family. During their years in North Attleboro, MA, Pat worked in the local hospital delivery ward, joyfully welcoming new life into the world.

Pat’s spiritual life was central to who she was. After studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, she was baptized in 1988 at Yankee Stadium. She cherished the belief that “since without life everything is meaningless, what better undertaking could you ever have than building a relationship with the giver of life – Jehovah God.” Her faith in the resurrection hope sustained her throughout her life. She especially appreciated the scriptural promise from job 14:15, which reads:

“You will call, and I myself will answer you. You will long for the work of your hands.”

Job expressed his confidence that even if he were to die, Jehovah would remember him and call him from the grave. This scripture and many others gave Pat the same confidence and a wonderful hope which she carried to the end, and her family finds comfort knowing she is now peacefully sleeping until the time she is called.

Pat was active in the Manchester, NH congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as Laconia NH, Burlington MA and Newburyport MA. She was loved and known by many hundreds of people for her bubbly spirit and zeal in the ministry. Pat was devoted to helping others in finding satisfying answers to life’s most challenging questions in God's Word, the Bible. One of her favorite scriptures can be found in Psalms 83:18:

“May people know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth.”

As a mother, Pat wanted nothing more than to see her children happy and walking in the Truth. She delighted in watching her family grow and treasured her role as a grandmother. Even as Alzheimer’s affected her later years, her instinct was to ask about her children, grandchildren, their spouses, their friends — everyone. She never stopped saying, “Tell them I said hello, give them a big hug and a kiss from me.” Her heart remained outward-focused until her final days.

Pat was predeceased by her beloved husband, Henry Willard Colstad; her brother Robert Gorman; and her niece Julie Sugimoto of Tochigi-Ken, Japan.

She is survived by her children: Suzanne Colstad Gillen of Manchester, NH, and her husband Bill; Steven Colstad of Methuen, MA, and his wife Erin; Neil Colstad of Hampton Falls, NH, and his wife Elisa; and Brian Colstad of Little Bay, Sydney, Australia, and his wife Evette.

She is also survived by her cherished grandchildren and nieces: Christine Cordeau of Milford, NH; Trish Hogan of Andover, MA; Rachel Colstad Kilgore of Hampton, NH; and Nicholas Colstad of Bozeman, MT. She was a proud great-grandmother to Maelyn and Kelvin Hogan, and Isabella Kilgore. Pat is also survived by her beloved “Gorman Girls”—Jane, Margaret, Noreen, Christine, and Nancy, of Long Island, NY—as well as Isaac, Sara, and Rayna Sugimoto of Tochigi-Ken, Japan, and their grandmother, her sister-in-law, Reiko Gorman of Yokohama, Japan.

A private service for immediate family will be held in the coming weeks.

The family extends heartfelt thanks to the compassionate staff at Hanover Hill in Manchester and the nursing staff at Elliott Hospital for their exceptional care and support.