Westborough – Patricia A. (Durkin) Viscardi, 81, passed away Friday, March 16, 2018, surrounded by family, after a courageous 3-year battle with cancer. She was born to Harold Durkin and Anna M. (Heeney) (Durkin) DeRosa in Jersey City, N.J.
She was raised in Jersey City as well as Bayonne, N.J. She graduated from St. Dominic Academy in 1954 and went on to train as a registered nurse at the Jersey City Medical Center, graduating in 1957. She continued her education at Boston College, receiving her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 1960.
Pat’s career included work at Hahnemann Hospital in Worcester, but she found her niche as an occupational health nurse. She worked at Bay State Abrasives, Massachusetts Electric, Honeywell and NEC. She later worked independently as a Nurse Case Manager. She was still working at the time of her death.
Pat loved her family, church and community. She was involved with the Westborough League of Women Voters, Jaycees, and Police Relocation Committee, and was elected to two separate Charter Commissions. She also helped found the Women’s Club at St. Luke’s the Evangelist Church and cooked meals for community members in need. Most of all, Pat enjoyed attending events for her children and grandchildren, and hosting gatherings at her home, especially for holidays and birthdays.
She was predeceased by her parents, Harold (1941) and Anna (2008); her brother, Ray Michael Durkin (1993); step-father, Anthony A. DeRosa (1994); father-in-law, Emil Viscardi (1985); mother-in-law, J. Shirley Viscardi (1990); brother-in-law, Peter Pappas (2010); and sister-in-law, Johanne Durkin (2016).
She leaves behind her husband, Frank R. Viscardi, to whom she’d been married for 58 years. They celebrated their anniversary Feb. 20. She was the proud mother of Kenneth F. Viscardi and his wife Linda of California; Steven M. Viscardi of Florida; Gail M. Granger and her husband Lance of Chelmsford; and Beth A. Viscardi of Shrewsbury. She was the devoted grandmother of Caitlin Gallegos and her husband Tony of Colorado; Lindsey Granger of Waltham; Emily Granger of Chelmsford; Anna Viscardi of New York; Jacqueline Nichols and her husband Michael of Florida; Benjamin Long of Florida; and Jessica Dadigan of California. She also leaves behind her sister-in-law, Judith Jordan and her husband Ed of Kansas. Pat was also the loving aunt of Deborah Durkin-Puia, Christopher Durkin, Michael Durkin, Christopher Pappas, Jeffrey Pappas, and Nicole Howard, and their families.
Her funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, March 23, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Luke the Evangelist Church, 70 West Main St., Westborough. Burial will follow in St. Luke’s Cemetery. Calling hours will be held Thursday, March 22, from 4-7 p.m., at the Pickering & Son Westborough Funeral Home, 62 West Main St., Westborough.
Memorial donations can be made in honor of Pat to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or the Worcester County Food Bank, 474 Boston Tpke., Shrewsbury, MA 01545.
