Patricia Anne Shank

Winona Lake, Indiana – Patricia Anne Hansen Shank, 90, formerly of Goshen and Syracuse, went to be with her Lord on August 28, 2020 at Grace Village in Winona Lake following an eight-month illness.

She was born October 1, 1929 in Racine, Wisconsin, to Clarence Willard and Ella Marie Petersen Hansen.  On June 15, 1952, she married Wendel Ray Shank, who died on March 27, 2005.  She spent most of her adult life at Lake Wawasee in Syracuse, Indiana. She moved to Greencroft Retirement Community in Goshen in 2000, and to Grace Village in 2020.

Pat was a 1951 graduate of Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, with a degree in elementary education. She taught elementary students in Wheaton, Goshen, New York and Missouri. Later, she worked in her husband’s optometry office in Syracuse until the two of them retired in 1993.

An active volunteer throughout her life, Pat was a leader for Camp Fire Girls and Cub Scouts, served in a variety of roles at the Goshen First Baptist Church, and helped on the leadership team for the Goshen chapter of Christian Women’s Club. She also completed 7,000 hours of volunteer service at Greencroft.

Pat and her husband enjoyed traveling together within the United States as well as internationally. Pat also enjoyed doing jigsaw puzzles, corresponding with friends and family, and reading, particularly her Bible. She read through the entire Bible each year for many years.

Pat is survived by two children, Susan (Tom) Hight of Warsaw, Indiana, and David (Andrea) Shank of Hersey, Michigan; four grandchildren, Jonathan (Stephanie) Shank of Westminster, Colorado; Stephen Shank of Aurora, Colorado; Stephanie (Jake) Pierce of Comstock Park, Michigan; and Melissa Shank of Hersey, Michigan; one great-grandchild, Kira Pierce; her sister, Peggy Johnson of Wheaton, Illinois, and other extended family. In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Sarah Anne Shank.

Cremation and interment at the Syracuse Cemetery will be handled by Yoder Culp Funeral Home of Goshen. A private family ceremony will be scheduled later. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Greencroft Goshen Foundation, Goshen First Baptist Church or Grace Village Retirement Community.