Patricia M. McNamara was born on March 25th, 1931 in Chicago Illinois. From the start Patricia had many obstacles to overcome. Her father was a strict man with a catholic background. He believed, as others did of that generation, that educating women was not important. He denied his daughter the right to attend high school. Patricia's father refused to pay her tuition to catholic high school. The only way for her to attend this school was to get a job and pay her own way. At age fourteen Patricia started work at the neighborhood soda shop. She started out sweeping floors and cleaning up. She worked hard and later became a "soda jerk". While all the other teenage girls were borrowing each others clothes and talking about their crushes, Patricia was paying her tuition. Her hard work and determination paid off. With great pride, Patricia graduated from Providence Catholic High School in 1949. This was a great accomplishment for Patricia, one she was very proud of. She refused to let her father's convictions stand in her way. With great strength and courage, she achieved her goals. After high school Patricia married her high school sweetheart John Lerner. Together they raised seven beautiful children. Patricia took great joy watching her children, grandchildren, and great-grand-children grow. She instilled her morals within all of them. She taught them about her strengths and courage, which in turn gave them the ability to thrive and flourish in their own environment.

Patricia overcame many obstacles throughout her life and graduating school was one that helped make her a stronger person. Patricia Lerner (McNamara) was an extraordinary woman.