Patty Ann McEntarfer

Born in Elwood, Ind., on Sept. 14, 1924, she was the only child of the late Walter Lewis Haas and the late Grace Ferol Haas.

Patty grew up in Elwood, Ind. She married Wesley James (Mac) McEntarfer on Oct. 9, 1945, at the First Methodist Church in Elwood. Wesley’s father, the Rev. Clifford McEntarfer, was the pastor for the ceremony. They were married for 54 years before his death in 1999. Their 75th wedding anniversary would have been on Oct. 9, 2020.

Patty was a graduate of Elwood High School in 1942. During World War II she worked in a gas mask factory to assist in the war effort at home. She attended Taylor University in Upland, Ind., for three years, where she met her future husband. She spent three years in college as a nursing major before marrying Mac, who had just returned from service overseas in the U.S. Navy during World War II. They lived in Albany N.Y., and Jamestown N.Y., before settling in Fredonia in 1955.

She and her husband were inseparable. One was rarely seen without the other. They owned and operated the Bremer Pharmacy in Fredonia and the Brocton Pharmacy in Brocton. She was the bookkeeper for the family business. During these years, she often cooked and delivered hot meals to her husband at the pharmacy. She was his primary caregiver when he was ill in his later years, and she visited him seven days a week to assist in his meals when he was a resident of the Chautauqua County Home.

Patty was an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Zonta Club, and the First United Methodist Church in Fredonia. She and Mac regularly cared for their four grandchildren when they were young. Later, while living at One Temple Square and then Fredonia Place, Patty communicated actively over email and Facebook and avidly followed both national politics and Buffalo Bills football.

Patty is survived by her two sons: David (Carol) McEntarfer of Forestville N.Y., and Michael (Deirdre) McEntarfer of Fredonia. She is also survived by her four grandchildren: Erika (Susan) McEntarfer, Jarrod (Neny) McEntarfer, Heather (Leah) McEntarfer, and Caitlin (Christopher) Holley. She is also survived by seven great-grandchil-dren.

Patty chose to donate her body, as her husband did before her, to the University of Buffalo Anatomical Gift Program.

The family will not be holding a public gathering at this time for Patty. Information regarding a future memorial gathering will be forthcoming at a later date.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, that memorial donations may be made to the food pantry at The Chautauqua County Rural Ministry, 319 Washington Ave., Dunkirk NY 14048, or a local charity of your choice.