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PATRICIA MARY HAMILTON PICCHI Patricia Mary Hamilton Picchi, 90, of Sarasota, FL, died on Tuesday, September 17, 2019, after a long illness. Mrs. Picchi, a permanent resident of Sarasota for the past 35 years, was born on November 7, 1928 in McKeesport, PA. She was the third child of Ruth Cooper Hamilton and Robert W. Hamilton. In 1947, she graduated from St. Peter's High School (now part of Serra Catholic High School), McKeesport, PA. In September of that same year, she married Bernard A. Picchi of Philadelphia, PA. While raising two sons, Mrs. Picchi began a career in banking as a teller at People's Union Bank & Trust, McKeesport, PA, and retired as a Vice President from Equibank, Pittsburgh, PA. In 1976, she completed a graduate program sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bankers Association at the Pennsylvania School of Banking at Bucknell University and was awarded a certificate for the Two Year Course, Pennsylvania School of Banking. A committed supporter of women's rights and gender equality, she became active in the Western Pennsylvania group of the National Association of Bank Women, where, in 1977, she was elected secretary-treasurer. From there, she became involved at the national level of the National Association of Bank Women and was elected Middle Atlantic regional vice president in 1980. In 1984, Mrs. Picchi helped organize and served as the co-chair of the Women's Business Ownership Conference held in Pittsburgh, PA. For many years, Mrs. Picchi was an active member of St. Elizabeth's Roman Catholic Church, Baldwin, PA, where she was a lector and a teacher of Christian Doctrine. Mrs. Picchi continued her involvement with the Catholic Church in Sarasota, where she was active in St. Martha's Catholic Church as a Eucharistic minister and as a member of the Board of Directors of St. Martha's Housing. She also worked long and hard to raise funds for the construction of the current St. Martha's School. Mrs. Picchi was a Dame Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of The Holy Sepulchre. In retirement, Mrs. Picchi served as the chair of the Travel Committee and on the welcoming committee at the Glenridge at Palmer Ranch, a continuing care community where she lived from 2004 until her death. For almost a decade she was an active member of the Glenridge Singers as well as a proud donor to the fund to construct the Glenridge Performing Arts Center. She served as a volunteer at Doctors' Hospital and at the Asolo Theater and the Sarasota Opera. Her husband, Bernard A. Picchi, her two infant daughters, her parents, her sister Ruth Hamilton Price, and her brother, Robert L. Hamilton, preceded Mrs. Picchi in death. Her two sons and their wives survive her: Bernard J. and Nancy Picchi of New York City and Robert H. and Colleen Picchi of Blowing Rock, NC. Two granddaughters survive her: Sarah C. Picchi of Los Angeles. CA, and Aimee E. Picchi of Burlington, VT. Three great-granddaughters and one great-grandson also survive. In addition, many nieces and nephews, in whose lives she played an active role, survive her. The family offers thanks to the staff at the Glenridge and to the staff of the Glenridge's skilled nursing facility, the Carroll Center, for the outstanding care they provided to Mrs. Picchi, and gratitude to Mrs. Picchi's longtime private aide and friend, Luz Mosquera. Memorial donations may be made in her name to St. Martha Catholic School, 4380 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34232, or to The Glenridge Charitable Foundation, earmarked for the Glenridge Academy Scholarship Fund, 7333 Scotland Way, Sarasota, FL 34238. (The Glenridge Academy Scholarship Fund provides educational scholarships to staff, their children, or grandchildren who are living with them.) Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
