Pat (Marie Patricia McIntyre) Kluepfel of 926 Lantern Hill Road in North Stonington died at home on Sunday, December 6.
Born November 15, 1924 in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada, she was the daughter of Ethel and John McIntyre. She moved to Huntington, Indiana, in 1947 and became a member of Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters for 23 years.
In 1970, she married Neil Kluepfel and moved to Noank, Connecticut and then to North Stonington in 1974. She is survived by her husband, one brother, Jack McIntyre of Oakville, Ontario. A sister, Mary Lou MacDonald, predeceased her in 1993 and a brother, Robert McIntyre, in 1998.
Pat's life work revolved around religious teaching, writing, editing, and publishing. A graduate of Marquette University with an M.A. in Theology, she taught religious formation in California, Indiana, Michigan and Texas. She wrote teacher guides and serial stories for Hi-Time in Milwaukee and was editor of the "People's Page" of Our Sunday Visitor in Huntington, Indiana before joining her husband in the founding and growth of Twenty-Third Publications in Mystic, Connecticut. She authored eight books and was editor of Religion Teacher's Journal for a decade, and acquisitions editor for books at Twenty-Third Publications for another decade.
Pat was active in North Stonington town politics, the Mystic Area Ecumenical Council, the Mystic Pilgrim Prayer community, St. Thomas More Parish in North Stonington, and a member of several national organizations including The College Theology Society and the Religious Education Association. Pat was a good friend to many charitable organizations nationally and world-wide, locally these included Martin House, Thames River Family Program, MASH, Haitian Health Foundation, Bethsaida Community, Hospice, Catholic Charities, and food banks.
It was Pat's wish to be cremated, with no immediate memorial service, and she placed plans for her memorial celebration in Neil's hands, and entrusts her soul into God's loving care.
A fitting remembrance from family and friends is a donation to HOSPICE, an organization that made her final months of life in a comfortable at-home environment possible. Hospice of Southeastern Connecticut is at 227 Dunham Street, Norwich CT 06360.
To share a message of remembrance or condolence to Neil and her family, please click the link below.