Patricia Donatelli-Tomasella

Patricia Louise Donatelli-Tomasella age 76 passed away in her home unexpectedly from natural causes on Thursday, May 9, 2024. She is survived by her husband of five years, Steven "Gaetano" Tomasella, cousins New York, students, and many friends, too many to name who were very important to her - they felt like family.

Patricia was born on November 12, 1947 to Doctor Charles Donatelli and Helena (Garrity) Donatelli. She lived her entire life in Toledo, Ohio. No matter where she went, Toledo was always home. Pat, as her friends called her, was preceded in death by her father, mother, and her only sibling, Concetta Pierce.

Patricia graduated from Toledo University with a Masters in Special Education; she belonged to the Phi Delta Phi, National Scholastic Honor Society, and was also a member of the Council for Exceptional Children and a life member of the Toledo Federation of Teachers. She retired from Toledo Public Schools after 30 years of teaching.

In her retirement, she became an advocate for feral cats. She researched feral cats and found that feral cats live in a neighborhood and keep mice and rats out of that neighborhood; she also discovered that if the feral cats are removed in any way from their territory, new ones will move in. Because she didn't want the neighborhood overrun with cats, she took it upon herself to get them trapped, fixed, and returned to their territory. She worked with two organizations: Planned Pethood which would give vouchers to get the cats fixed for free; and Humane Ohio which would accept the vouchers to spay and neuter the cats. She committed herself to the daily care of feeding and the health issues of cat colonies on her own dime but then started a gofundme account, Fight for the Ferals, to help with costs.

She recently reconnected with someone she had gone with in college fifty years before, and they decided to get married, in their 70's. He came from out west to live in Toledo, the city that she loved. He liked cats, and became her partner, not only in marriage, but in her fight for the ferals.

She was passionate about her several hobbies. Her whole life, she loved to paint and was neighborhood-famous for her uniquely decorated pumpkins at Halloween. During her teaching career, she wrote a novel, Behind the Looking Glass, then had it published, distributed, and even scheduled a book signing at Barnes & Noble. She also enjoyed listening and interacting with the Denny Schaffer Show hosts so much that she earned the title, Almost Super Fan Patty.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.