Patricia Marie Gaughan

Patricia Marie Gaughan, 91, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, passed away Wednesday, April 20th, 2022. She was born April 16th, 1931, in her family’s home in Carthage, Illinois, to the late Rose (McNally) and Miles Murphy.

Her childhood was spent both working in and around the family farm and at a one-room schoolhouse. Despite loving the atmosphere, she was not fond of the chores she had to share with her four sisters and two brothers, but nonetheless pursued them until age 13 when she began a new chapter of life attending Saint Mary’s Academy, a Benedictine all-girls boarding school in Nauvoo, IL. From there she went to Quincy College in 1949 where she crossed paths with who would later become the love of her life – John Francis Gaughan. They married in 1950, and spent 67 lively years together. In their journey, they raised 10 children on John’s Catholic school teacher salary; she had to be frugal at times, creative at others, but always loving, and loving she did.

Patricia was a fierce protector of her children and family, always ready to defend them, or offer what she could. She was a long-time member of Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. She was incredibly selfless – in addition to being a devout Catholic – choosing her favorite color to be red because John liked it. She never took the last of a dish, never seemed stretched thin with all her tasks, and most importantly she never let hard times stop her. She never complained, but rather nurtured. If you let her hold a baby you would have a hard time getting the child back because holding children was her favorite thing to do, other than enjoying homemade orange juice with family on Sunday brunch after church. She was the hardest working woman and often prayed for long periods of time because she had so many to ask God to look after.

Patricia is survived by her sister, Sr. Margaret Murphy, OSB, her nine children: John (Becky), Bernard (Eileen), Miles (MaryAnn), Patrick (Christy), Mary Pat (Kyle) Eppele, Thomas (Sandy), Joseph, Martin (Megan), and Kelly (William) Hokanson. As grandmother to 29 and great-grandmother to 23, she always had enough room in her heart for all of them. She was preceded in death by her husband, John, in addition to her son, Daniel, grandson, Nicholas, and siblings: Sister Rosemary Murphy OSB, Kathleen O’Donnell, MaryAnn McHugh, Myles Murphy, and Rev. Thomas Murphy.  Beautiful inside and out, her smile and presence will be missed.

Memorial donations in Patricia’s honor can be made to the Benedictine Sisters of St Mary Monastery, 2200 88th Avenue, Rock Island IL 61201.