Patricia Ann

Wils

Patricia Anne Wils (née Patterson)
January 18, 1953 – June 15, 2026

Some people leave behind accomplishments. Others leave behind traditions, stories, and ways of being that become woven into a family's fabric. Patricia Wils left all of those things.

Patty passed away on June 15, 2026, after a long battle with cancer. She met the disease much as she met everything else in life: with grit, practicality, and unwavering dignity. She was not one to complain or seek sympathy. Instead, she carried herself with quiet strength, focusing on what needed to be done and finding joy wherever she could.

Born on January 18, 1953, to Leroy and Gloria Patterson, Patty grew up in Brooklyn, where she developed a lifelong love of art, culture, beauty, and good food. She carried those interests with her throughout her life, creating a home filled with collections, plants, and treasures gathered from travels near and far. She had an eye for beauty that couldn't be taught and a personal style that remained unmistakably her own.

For more than forty years, she shared a life and partnership with her beloved husband, Harry "Hap" Wils. Together they built a family in Sag Harbor, the place Patty called home for most of her life and where she raised her children, Daniel and Kate.

Patty was a registered nurse for decades, serving patients throughout the Hamptons at Southampton Hospital and later in the office of Dr. Mark Kott. Nursing wasn't simply her profession, it was also an extension of who she was. Competent, calm, compassionate, and dependable, she was the kind of person people trusted immediately and remembered long afterward.

Yet those who loved Patty know that her life was never defined by work alone. It was defined by the way she made people feel.

She had a smile that arrived before she did and a wit sharp enough to keep everyone on their toes. She loved Italian food, beautiful gardens, and a good bargain. She collected things with enthusiasm and displayed them proudly. She could make an ordinary gathering feel like an occasion and an occasion feel like a holiday.

And no one did holidays quite like Patty.

Christmas in particular will never be the same. She delighted in giving, in surprising people, in creating abundance and excitement. A Christmas stocking from Patty weighed a ton and would be overflowing with individually wrapped gifts she'd been stockpiling for months. She understood that generosity was about more than gifts; rather, it was about making people feel seen, celebrated, and loved.

She leaves behind her husband, Hap; her children, Daniel (Helen) and Kate (Mark); and her adored grandchildren, Mason, Daphne, Corina "Coco", and Theodore "Teddy". If Patty's legacy can be found anywhere, it is in them. It is in their curiosity about the world, their creativity, their love of learning, their welcoming nature, and their tendency to make a big deal out of life's moments. Patty understood something important: that life is richer when we celebrate it and say, "Why the hell not?" A birthday should be celebrated. A holiday should be magical. A family dinner should be bountiful and lingered over. A beautiful flower should be admired. A good story should be retold.

She leaves behind a family who learned those lessons well.

The gardens will continue to bloom. The holiday traditions will live on. The stories will be told again and again. And somewhere in each of those moments will be Patty…smiling, observing, and probably delivering a perfectly timed remark.

She was deeply loved, and she will be deeply missed.

In lieu of flowers, food, or other gifts, the family humbly asks that donations be made to the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, in recognition of the care and support provided to Patty and so many others in the community she loved.