A Heartfelt Farewell: Remembering Patricia 'Pat' DeBiase

Patricia 'Pat' DeBiase

All of us who have been part of the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Patricia 'Pat' DeBiase, our long-time Secretary-Treasurer and tremendous supporter of our troupe's mission and the various ways of fulfilling that mission. She was 83.

Pat learned about our troupe in about 1994 when I met her via a friend of hers who worked at a Blockbusters Video Store on the west side of Elmhurst, Illinois.  Pat at that time was an accountant for a thriving restaurant on the north side of Elmhurst.

Pat appreciated our troupe's initial and ongoing mission of changing and saving lives, and she began to devote countless hours every week in providing the necessary financial records and maintaining in a timely manner whatever documents were required in order for our fledgling not-for-profit traveling troupe to thrive.

Pat truly cared about our troupe, its mission, its youthful members, and other members of our Board. She never missed a scheduled troupe Board meeting!

She was always available for troupe-related business at her home, first in Elmhurst, then Roselle - whatever the time of day or night - as well as at the office in the restaurant where she worked when she lived in Elmhurst.

Even after she retired from our Board, she continued to frequently check to see whether the proper not-for-profit tax filings were being made in a timely manner.

I strongly feel that our troupe would not have continued without Pat's on-going devotion.  She truly believed in the MWAH! troupe and what the troupe was trying to accomplish.

Sadly, she had Parkinson's Disease during the final several years of her long life, and her activities became increasingly curtailed.

Pat's daughter, Judy, has informed me that visitation for Pat will be from 4-8 p.m. on October 13, 2023, at Cumberland Chapels in the Village of Norridge, Illinois, near the northwest side of Chicago.

We truly thank Pat for her many years of devotion to our troupe.

She will be deeply missed by her family members and others who knew her, including those of us from the MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe.

Very sincerely,

Ray Moffitt, Board Chair