Longtime Baltimore resident and educator Ellen Levy Patz died last Thursday, Apr. 17. The Pikesville resident was 99.
A Baltimore native and graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she was the daughter of community leader, philanthropist and musicologist Lester S. Levy.
In addition, she was the wife of pioneering research professor Dr. Arnall Patz, who in 2004 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work in the field of ophthalmology.
In her younger years, Ellen Levy Patz was an accomplished competitive athlete. She won the Mid-Atlantic doubles tennis championships in 1938, 1940 and 1942 with her longtime friend, neighbor and tennis partner, Ellen W. Halle.
During her career, Patz worked as a cytotechnologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital and taught at Edmondson High School.
In her spare time, she was a beekeeper and gardener.
“Compassion and kindness defined Ellen Patz,” her family wrote on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “Her dog-filled home was always open to extended family, visiting students and doctors, who stayed for months and sometimes years.”
Services for Ellen Levy Patz will be held at Sol Levinson’s Chapel, 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville, on Wednesday, April 23, at 12:30 p.m. Interment will be at the Baltimore Hebrew Belair Road Cemetery.
She is survived by her children, Bill (Erin) Patz, Susan Patz, Dave (Nancy) Patz and Jon (Jean) Patz; her sisters, Ruth Gottesman, and Vera Mitnick; her grandchildren, Sarah, Mike, Kate, Ben, Evan, Eleanor, Sam, Cora, Rebecca, Ariel, Ben, Aaron and Emily; and her great-grandchildren, Stephen, Cora, Hayden, and Arnall.
She is also survived by her nephews and nieces, Samuel, Harry and Sarah Anne.
She was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, Dr. Arnall Patz; her sister, Sue Bodenheimer; and her parents, Eleanor and Lester S. Levy.
Contributions in her memory may be sent to the Lester Levy Sheet Music Collection at Johns Hopkins Sheridan Library in memory of Ellen Patz. To donate, contact Sam Bessen at sbessen@jhu.edu.
Memorial gifts can also be directed to the Natural Resource Council of Maine, 3 Wade Street, Augusta, Maine 04330 or Project Apis m., P.O. Box 26793, Salt Lake City, Utah 84126.
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