Patricia S Gage

Patricia Smith (Love) Gage, age 77, ended her long and hard-fought battle with Alzheimer’s disease on August 16th, 2023. While we will miss her more than words could ever say, we celebrate that she is no longer suffering, and has gone to join her loved ones in Heaven. Patricia was born in Pennsylvania in 1946 to George and Betty (Doney) Love and was raised alongside her 3 siblings in the small town of Aldan, PA. Pat attended grade school at St. Joseph in Collingdale, Pennsylvania before joining Archbishop Prendergast High School for Girls’ Class of 1964. There she formed close friendships with the women in her Sorority and participated in what would become a life-long appreciation of musical theater through the school’s “Mask and Mime Club.” She also enjoyed travelling to Rome with the school’s Latin Club. During the summer months, she honed her nurturing and entrepreneurial spirit by running a babysitting camp for her younger siblings and neighborhood children. Following High School, she worked for a neighborhood Realtor while attending evening classes at St. Joseph’s College. Her boss allowed her to stay at her Poconos Mountain home each year, so a mountain vacation became a cherished annual family tradition for years. The mountains and campgrounds became Pat’s happy place. After her marriage to her first husband in 1967, she was blessed with 3 children, Jacqueline (1969), Tracy (1971) and Gary (1982). Shortly after the birth of her second daughter, the family moved to upstate New York. Patricia was a Navy MARS ham radio operator during the Vietnam war and helped relay messages from the soldiers overseas to their families back home in the states. She embraced her role as wife and mother, always the first to volunteer when the church or school needed help. She sewed endlessly, making all her children’s clothes, and even their Barbie dolls clothes! She was a Eucharistic Minister and lector at her parish, and very involved in the Marriage Encounter community. When her church decided to sponsor a Vietnamese refugee family, she was first in line to help them get established in the community. In 1985 the family relocated to Pepperell, Massachusetts. Patricia took the opportunity of having a toddler at home to start her first small home-based business, a successful tole painting business called Pood’s Pastime. She could often be found in the basement covered in sawdust from cutting out her designs or paint from decorating them. After many years of having the full time role of Mom, in 1990, Pat took the opportunity to return to college and take some courses that would allow her to transition into the working world. Her hard work earned her the position of Medical Staff Secretary at Nashoba Hospital. Never one to only tackle one project at a time, she decided to branch out, and earned her certification as a Motivational Speaker. She also became involved in the "Actorsingers" community theatre organization in Nashua, where she met her second husband, Russell Gage. Patricia and Russell both shared a love for music and for sharing it with others. Together they opened a music business called The Melody Workshop in Pepperell, Massachusetts, eventually relocating the business to Hollis, New Hampshire and then Nashua, New Hampshire. They offered instrument lessons to people of all ages, children’s music classes and a small retail selection of instruments and music themed gifts. Patricia’s son Gary worked alongside them for many years. Patricia also earned her certification as a Music Therapist at this time, registering her 3rd small business, Crossbridge Enterprises. She offered comfort to many hospice patients in their final hours with her music. Their love for the White Mountain region of New Hampshire had Patricia and Russell relocating there in 2007. Patricia worked in several local bed and breakfast Inns, and she and Russell became very involved in their church. Her Alzheimer's battle started way too soon and was worsened by the loss of Russell in 2019. She moved into assisted living in October of 2019, and then in July of 2020, moved into Mount Carmel Nursing Home in Manchester, New Hampshire, where she lived for her final years. Patricia was preceded in death by her parents, George and Betty Love, her husband, Russell Gage and her daughter, Tracy Smith. Patricia is survived by her daughter Jacqueline (Patrick) O’Brien of Milford, New Hampshire and her son Gary Smith of Pembroke, New Hampshire; her brother Gregory (Kathy) Love of Palm Springs, California, her sister Barbara (Jim) Smith of Havertown, Pennsylvania and her brother Christopher Love of Huntsville, Alabama; her 4 beloved grandchildren, Brooke O’Brien, Brady O’Brien, Aurora Albright and Ace Smith; her 2 nieces Corinne Smith and Nicole (Love) Worth and her 3 nephews Jim Smith, Jason Love and Ryan Smith. She will be warmly remembered by the many people whose lives she touched over the years thought music, faith, and friendship. The family is incredibly grateful to the wonderful staff at Mount Carmel Nursing Home in Manchester, New Hampshire, especially Ruth Grandmaison, who so lovingly cared for our mother over the last 3 years. Their love for the work they do is evident, and we feel blessed to have had our mother cared for so well. We are also grateful for the wonderful hospice staff from the VNA of Manchester who made our mother’s final days comfortable and surrounded her with their love. There will be a public graveside service at Woodlawn Cemetery, located at 40 Heald Street, Pepperell, Massachusetts 01463 at 11:00am on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 and refreshments will follow at Pat’s daughters house in Milford. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a donation in Pat’s memory to the Alzheimer's Association (https://www.alz.org/get-involved-now/donate).