Patsy Klotz Neher, beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, neighbor and friend, went home to be with the Lord on July 19, 2026, at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington, surrounded by the love of her family. She was born on September 13, 1961, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the daughter of John Clement Klotz Jr. and Helen Serrani Klotz.

Patsy grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She graduated from Bishop Luers High School in 1980, where she was the homecoming queen of her graduating class. After high school, she attended Ball State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science and Professional Arts in Journalism with a minor in Business in 1984. In college, Patsy was active in her community, serving as a member of the National Journalism Honor Society, an orientation leader, and winning a school-wide photography contest.

Throughout her college years, Patsy dated Larry Allen Neher of New Haven, Indiana until they got married on August 20, 1983. They drove from the reception to West Lafayette and stayed in an apartment next to Ross-Ade Stadium. They were happily married for 43 years, and Larry will never stop missing her. Their first “dates” were jogs through the neighborhood around the Klotz house and John called Larry “Jogger Larry,” or JL. After graduation, they drove across the country to Seattle, Washington to start their careers together. Patsy worked for Valley Medical Center in marketing while Larry worked for Boeing and EDS. They liked the Seattle area and planned to stay and enjoy the weather, outdoor activities and lack of mosquitoes. They went on some pretty adventurous trips across the Cascades, including Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, and the Olympic mountains. They also went on backing trips and ski trips in Washington and Oregon.

For their next adventure, Patsy and Larry moved to San Jose, California in 1992. Here, Patsy began her technical writing career, where she deeply enjoyed working with electrical engineers at Altera Corporation to write hardware and software documentation. To accelerate her career, Patsy read “Bebop to the Boolean Boogie” by Clive Maxfield. It is a fun, conversational, and accessible guide that explains the fundamentals of digital electronics, integrated circuits, and how modern computer hardware systems work. Her advanced knowledge allowed her to communicate clearly with the digital engineers and make good adjustments to their notes. Altera built programmable digital logic devices (PLD’s) that are programmed for other digital devices. Without good manuals, the PLD’s aren’t usable.

During her time at Altera, she received the Award of Distinguished Technical Communication in 1997 for the Technical Publication of the “1996 Data Book.” She went on to serve as a Senior Technical Writer until 1999 while taking three classes at the University of California, Santa Cruz to further her expertise in digital integrated circuits and systems.

On January 1, 2000, Patsy and Larry welcomed their daughter, Caitlin Maria Neher, into their family in Los Gatos, California. Caitlin has always been energetic and fun, requiring all of her parents’ energy and frequent visits from her grandparents. Fortunately, led by Patsy, they were successful and Caitlin turned into the amazing young woman I’m looking at now. I’ll rarely be able to look at Caitlin without thinking about Patsy too. Motherhood was Patsy’s greatest joy. Her dedication, love and support of her daughter Caitlin has created an incredible foundation of strength and resilience for her to carry throughout her life.

Patsy continued her role as a Contract Senior Technical Writer for Altera, while raising Caitlin in their beloved San Jose home. Patsy then moved back to Washington state with her family in 2003, and they settled into their long-term home in Bellevue, Washington in 2004. In recent years, Patsy found joy in her sunrise runs around the neighborhood, soy matcha lattes with her family, and loving on her cats, Bub and June. She was a reader and a traveler – family trips planned by her were the very best! Patsy, Larry and Caitlin hold many cherished memories from family vacations to US National Parks, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Italy, France, and Germany. However, her most favorite place to visit was Fort Wayne, Indiana. There she spent invaluable quality time with her family: going to church, waterskiing on Lake Wawasee, playing with her nieces and nephews, and sharing her vegan and microbiome-approved recipes with anybody who was interested in trying them (and there were many)!

To know Patsy was to know her unconditional love for her family and friends. Her bright smile, warm empathy, and courageous advocacy have touched countless hearts and communities. She was a giver, generous with her time and her love. Patsy always found new ways to support the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of her loved ones. She is survived by those who will forever carry her spirit with them: her husband Larry, her daughter Caitlin, her parents John and Helen, her siblings Sherri Buckalew, Michelle Shive, Brent Klotz, and Maria Conroy, and many, many cousins, nieces and nephews, along with the Neher family.

The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30am Thursday, September 3, 2026, in St. Jude Catholic Church, 2155 Randallia Dr, Fort Wayne, IN with visitation from 9:30-10:30am in the church. Burial will follow, in Fort Wayne Catholic Cemetery. Arrangements through Divine Mercy Funeral Home, 3500 Lake Ave. Fort Wayne. The family’s preferred memorial is the St. Vincent de Paul Society, c/o St. Jude Catholic Church, 2130 Pemberton Drive, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. To share a remembrance of Patsy or to offer condolences, please visit DivineMercyFuneralHome.com.

Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon her.

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