Patricia Mae (née Lafferty) Dewey, age 81, of Elgin, IL, passed away peacefully on February 11, 2026. She was born August 13, 1944 in Greencastle, IN to her loving parents, Mildred (née Enders) and Daniel Lafferty II.

Patricia leaves a legacy of steadfast love, quiet endurance, and a deep reverence for the written word. Literature shaped the way she moved through the world, and the way she taught us to see it.

The first in her family to attend college and graduate school, Patricia carried an independent and beautifully stubborn streak that propelled her far beyond what was expected. She believed, audaciously and as a matter of course, that anything was achievable. She showed us what grit and determination looked like in practice. She could make scraps into gold, make the impossible possible, and find beauty in the most unexpected places.

Her love lives on in her only child, Jennifer; and her three grandchildren, Nathaniel, Corynn, and Isabelle. She was preceded in death by her parents, Daniel and Mildred Lafferty; and by her three brothers, Lawrence, Daniel, and Robert.

We will remember her with enduring love and gratitude for all she sacrificed to make our worlds wider, richer, and better.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00am, Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at Oakridge Cemetery, 4301 W. Roosevelt Road, Hillside, IL 60162.

Final arrangements entrusted to Symonds-Madison Funeral Home. For more information, call 847-741-1128.