Patricia A. Speede, age 94, a longtime resident of Mount Kisco New York, passed away peacefully on November 25, 2025.
Patricia A. Speede was born in 1931 on the 7th of January to Walter and Katherine Hagan in the Bronx, NY. She grew up on Staten Island with her sisters Joan and Barbara. She attended Curtis High School and after graduating went on to Notre Dame College on Staten Island, now part of Saint John's University, where she received a bachelor's degree in biology.
After graduating from Notre Dame College, she began work at the Sloan Kettering Institute in Manhattan, now Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she worked as a lab technician studying cancer treatments. Patricia eventually moved to Harrison to work at the new Sloan Kettering research facility in West Harrison, NY. It was while working there she met her husband of 49 years, Gilbert, who also worked there. They married and moved to the Bronx where they had three children, Mark, Eric and Suzanne. She was a loving, devoted wife and mother. In 1967 the family moved to Mount Kisco, NY where Patricia found her passion working with children, at West Patent Elementary School until her retirement.
Pat, as most knew her, was an avid baker and well known for her Christmas cookies. She enjoyed bringing them to family gatherings and giving them to friends and neighbors. She made all types of baked goods throughout the year and would often make special requests for some worthy recipients at holidays, birthdays and other occasions. There are memories of items prepared for bake sales never making it to the counter as folks purchased them on the way in so as not to be denied an opportunity to take them home.
Pat also loved to cook, always eager to try something new. "I eat everything", was something she said often, especially in recent years. She watched the classic cooking shows with Julia Child, the French Chef and Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet. She liked reading cookbooks and recipes in magazines and newspapers and would often find new ways to prepare old standards. She also had her trusted repertoire of dishes for gatherings, occasions or just weeknight dinner. Gil enjoyed many of the meals she prepared including her chili. He had spent time living in the Southwest years ago and said hers was the best. He might've been right, but mom wasn't a fan of really spicy foods and so spicy isn't the way you might describe her chili.
Pat liked to sew, do needlepoint, knit, and she was extremely creative. She'd knit hats, mittens, scarves and things for the children. There was a time when she decided to knit sweaters for the family. We all got one, even her mother. She stopped knitting after that stretch. She continued to express her quiet happiness and sense of humor in all she did and could always see the rainbows and butterflies.
Pat sang in the choir at Saint Fransis of Assisi in Mount Kisco, NY for years. She also played handbells in the church's hand bell choir. The choirs performed at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in NY for several holiday celebrations. She enjoyed Broadway musicals and had been an ardent theater goer for years. A devoted Yankee's fan some seasons she would see every televised game which she preferred over going to the stadium after the last time we took her to a game and the view wasn't as good and the walk was long and hot to the seats and… She did always keep up with the standings and news about the team in the paper.
Patricia is survived by her younger sister Barbara Clinton and her husband Joseph Clinton of Waldwick, NJ. Her children, Mark and Francine of Newtown, CT, Eric of Swampscott, MA and Suzanne of CT. Her Grandchildren, Brandon and Carlee Speede, Curtis Speede and William and Samantha Speede, and her Great-grandchildren, Matthew, Jayden, Gabriella, Mason and Miles and many nieces and nephews.
A Visitation was held on Monday, December 1, 2025, at Cassidy-Flynn Funeral Directors in Mount Kisco.
In lieu of flowers the family has requested that memorial donations be made to The Alzheimer's Association
