Hobart and William Smith Colleges

September 16, 2024

Dear Members of the HWS Community:

I am deeply saddened to report that Pat Heieck P’88, L.H.D. ’10, who led catering services on campus for more than 30 years, died on Thursday after a courageous five-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Pat’s hospitality and care for others defined her long career at Hobart and William Smith and the exemplary relationships she built with her colleagues, faculty and students. She treated members of the HWS community as an extension of her own family, ensuring that every catered reception, from the simplest to the most complex, exceeded all expectations. Her warmth, generosity and dedication reached far beyond campus, to her family, friends and the broader Geneva community, making all who had the good fortune to know her feel welcome and appreciated. I will never forget the many kindnesses she showed to Mary, our daughters and me, and will forever treasure her friendship.

Pat began her professional career as a second-grade teacher in New York and Vermont. After starting a family, she joined Dining Services at Hobart and William Smith in 1976. Bravely changing careers with a young family at home, she had the acumen and organizational skills to learn a new field by immersing herself in it. Over the next three decades, working under four HWS presidents, she planned meals for more than 17,000 students and alumni. She managed catering for events in celebration of hundreds of visiting dignitaries including heads of state, 18 Elizabeth Blackwell Award recipients and nearly 50 honorary degree recipients. Her work contributed to the success of celebrations at the heart of our campus traditions and our community’s future, including Commencement, Reunion, the William Smith Centennial, weddings, memorials, admissions receptions, and countless gatherings of faculty, staff, clubs and organizations.

When Pat was honored with an inaugural Hai Timiai Award in 2008 during Centennial Weekend, she was praised not only for “her tireless dedication to student services,” but “her invaluable advice and leadership.” I fondly recall presenting her with an honorary degree in 2010, when as a community, Hobart and William Smith honored Pat’s unwavering dedication to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for our campus and our visitors. Indeed, Pat set a precedent we all can aspire to.

As we mourn Pat’s passing, we keep in mind her children, Monica ’88, Maureen and Eric; siblings, Molly, Sherry and Edmond; and many other family members and friends. A funeral service is schedule for Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. at St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church in Geneva.

Sincerely,

Mark D. Gearan
President