Patricia Callahan 1961 - 2010

Patricia Louise Callahan, age 49, died peacefully at home in Oakland among family members on December 2, 2010, after a short but valiant struggle with brain cancer.

Born September 27, 1961, Trisha is survived by her devoted parents, Jim and Margaret Callahan, and her seven siblings: Claire and her husband Bob Goodman of Orinda, Kathleen and her husband Andreas Neyer of Piedmont, James of Oakland, John and his wife Nancy of Oakland, Michael and his fiancée Elizabeth Peele of Berkeley, Mary Ellen and her partner Walter Schretzman of New York City and Matthew and his wife Rhys Cheung of Fremont. She is also survived and beloved by nieces Rebekah Goodman, Sarah Callahan Stanley and Aoibheann Cheung Callahan, nephews Christoph Neyer and Joey Callahan, uncle Tom Bendorf of South Dakota and aunt Patricia Carroll of Philadelphia, cousins Heidi Bendorf and Sally MacLaughlin and 18 other first cousins. She was predeceased by her aunt Sister Martha Bendorf, SNJM, in 2009.

She is also missed by the many, many friends she left behind, including those who, in addition to her family members, helped care for her in the past months: Kelly Lockwood, Allison Boles, K.T. Gardner, Jim Stanton, Sarah Cane, Leah Reitz, Ann Holt, Caryn Combis and Linda Brooks.

Patricia grew up in Piedmont and attended Beach Elementary and Piedmont High School, graduating in 1979. She obtained an undergraduate degree in German from San Francisco State, a master’s degree in German Linguistics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and, at the time of the onset of her illness, had almost completed her third master’s degree in Music Education at Holy Names University and California State University East Bay.

During her lifetime Trisha visited many points around the globe. In her early years she spent time living in Malmö, Sweden, London, England and Austin, Texas. She worked as a translator and textbook writer, as an arts manager, a business analyst and a massage therapist, but in the last four years settled into steady and happy employment as a piano technician at Callahan Piano Service in Alameda, where she will be greatly missed by her beloved co-workers. She recently starred in the movie “Miracle in a Box” (miracleinabox.com).

Trisha, a marvelous and very refined musician, performed throughout her life with numerous choral groups, including the Oakland Children’s Chorus, the Oakland Youth Chorus, the California Bach Society, Coro Hispano, the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir and the Malmö Kammer Kor in Sweden. She also played the oboe and the clarinet.

Trisha was a proficient unicyclist and juggler, a skilled improviser, a gifted comic and an unforgettable character. She had recently become an enthusiastic rower and described it as “the perfect sport/exercise/meditation”.

A vast debt of gratitude is owed by all who loved Trisha to her brother and sister-in-law, John and Nancy Callahan, with whom Trisha lived during the final months of her life. Their patient, selfless care and devotion made it possible for her to experience many moments of joy and laughter in her final months, and she enthusiastically enjoyed John’s exquisite cooking until the very end.

Good-bye, Trisha. To know you was to love you.

A celebration of Trisha’s life with lots of music is planned for January 29^th, 2011. For details please email goodman156@comcast.net. Donations in Trisha’s memory may be made to the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research, 1100 Peninsula Blvd, Hewlett, NY 11557.