Patricia Anne Wolven-Howard

Patricia loved with 700 kisses.

Throughout her life, whenever Patricia found herself overflowing with love and joy, she would pull her children, her grandchildren, or one of her beloved pets close and give them what she called "700 kisses."

At the time, we would laugh and protest, "Grandma, not 700 kisses!" And she would laugh right along with us.

But as we grow older, we begin to understand just how precious those little things are. What once seemed like far too many kisses somehow becomes nowhere near enough.

On September 18, 2026, at 4:47 in the morning, Patricia left this world, leaving behind a family who would give anything for 700 more kisses.

Patricia was born on March 13, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, to her mother, Nancy Cornicelli. The oldest of six children, she grew up alongside her siblings Vincent, Lenora, Nancy, Virginia, and Carolyn.

Of all Patricia accomplished throughout her life, nothing made her prouder than her children and grandchildren. They were, without question, her greatest accomplishments. She was immensely proud of the people they became and loved to talk about their lives, their accomplishments, and the families and lives they were building for themselves. Their successes were her successes, their happiness was her happiness, and she never missed an opportunity to let them know just how proud she was of them.

Patricia had plenty of accomplishments of her own as well. She was incredibly proud of her education, including graduating summa cum laude from SUNY New Paltz with a 4.0 GPA. She was intelligent, determined, passionate, and fiercely independent.

She was also a spitfire, a small, stubborn Italian woman with a personality far bigger than her stature. Patricia knew what she believed in, she knew what she wanted, and good luck convincing her otherwise. That fire was simply part of what made Patricia, Patricia.

She was especially passionate about women's health and reproductive rights. Patricia stood outside the United States Supreme Court to protest in support of a woman's right to choose, and she carried those convictions with her throughout her life. She believed deeply in standing up for others and gave generously to causes that mattered to her, including organizations supporting women's health and veterans.

Her faith was equally important to her. Patricia had a strong belief in God, and her faith remained an important part of who she was. She could be deeply religious while also fiercely standing up for what she believed women deserved, and she never felt the need to make herself smaller or quieter for anyone.

But Patricia was so much more than her accomplishments and convictions.

She loved lighthouses and unicorns, Vera Bradley, Cape Cod, and Ocean City. She loved going to Red Lobster with her family and finding happiness in those simple traditions that, looking back, never seem quite so simple anymore.

Patricia was also a passionate supporter of breast cancer awareness and had a particular love for the pink ribbon and everything it represented. She was wonderfully creative and loved crafting, making blankets, and especially quilting. One of the creations she was most proud of was a beautiful pink-ribbon quilt that was displayed at a radiology imaging center. It was something she spoke of with tremendous pride, and rightfully so.

And then, of course, there were her animals.

Patricia loved her pets with the same enormous heart she gave to her family. She leaves behind her cat Momo, another very lucky recipient of those famous 700 kisses.

Above everything else, Patricia loved her family.

She leaves behind her son, Peter Wolven Jr.; her daughter, Tammy; her grandchildren, Julianne Nolan, Kayla Wolven, Kenzye Wolven, and Maria Worden; Maria's husband, Michael Worden; and her great-granddaughter, Amelia Worden. She is also survived by her siblings, Vincent, Lenora, Nancy, Virginia, and Carolyn.

Patricia was preceded in death by her mother, Nancy Cornicelli; her husband, Richard Howard; and her beloved cat, Red, who truly was one of the great loves of her life.

She also leaves behind her longtime partner, Kenny McDonald, who shared the final chapter of her life with her and lovingly cared for her during her final days.

For the last few years of her life, Patricia made her home in Florida, where she spent her remaining years in the sunshine with Kenny. It was there, in Florida, that her life came to a close on September 18, 2026.

It would be easy to look at Patricia's life and say that she was lucky. She had a beautiful family. She experienced love, faith, accomplishment, laughter, conviction, creativity, and a lifetime of memories. She had children, grandchildren, a great-grandchild, siblings, animals she adored, and people who loved her deeply.

But those of us who received those 700 kisses know something different.

We were the lucky ones.

Because how lucky are we to have been loved by someone who loved us so much that one kiss was never enough?

She gave us 700.

And today, we would give anything for 700 more. ❤️