A tribute to the life & legacy of The Unsinkable Patty Rutland

As those of you who knew Patty Rutland best are already aware, her favorite movie of all time was The Unsinkable Molly Brown -- in which the vivacious fair-haired heroine was portrayed by Debbie Reynolds when that mega-talented singer-dancer-actress was in her prime.

But it was not until I had the honor of helping Patty’s children Becky and Bobby prepare some photo collages celebrating their mother’s incredible life and legacy last night that I realized just how strong a resemblance she bore to the movie character she had so greatly admired.

Because I did not have the joy of meeting Patty until she was approaching the half century mark, there was no way I could have known until viewing the vintage photos last evening that Patty had most definitely been blessed with movie star looks during her teens – a time when she also loved to sing and dance with an entourage called UP WITH PEOPLE.

It donned on me as I was placing the photos on the poster boards that Patty could easily have made a living as a model or an entertainer during her youth – had she been so inclined.

Instead, Patty chose at an early age to devote her life to being of service to others – first as a nurse who always wished she could spend more time holding her patients hands and then as the loving and devoted wife and mother. When her beloved husband Harrington Rutland, Sr. died suddenly and unexpectedly of a massive heart attack, the young widow resolved to become the strongest role model she could possibly be for the couple’s children.

There was no time for self-pity and if signs declaring “QUIT YER WHININ” had existed in those days, Patty would have been among the first to secure one and post it prominently in her Brookline Road home so that all who entered would know that this was a place for counting blessings and living life to the fullest.

Patty’s children clearly learned from their mother’s example for they are positive reflections of the home in which they were raised. She was fond of the expression “First you must give your children roots; then you can give them wings” and that is what she did when it came to Becky and Bobby – both of whom have matured into fine young adults who will surely never run out of uplifting and inspiring stories to share with their own children (Cayden Rutland and Nathaniel Little) about the grandmother with the unsinkable spirit that they call “Nona.”

Even after Patty became dependent on tanks of oxygen for every breath she took, she continued to exude an optimism that was nothing short of inspiring. The dark cloud always had a silver lining; the glass was always half full; there was a pot of gold at the end of every rainbow.

The one thing Patty would not tolerate even as her health declined – the result she said of taking a prescription medication that had “rare but serious side effects” --was the thought that someone might not see The Silver Lining that had been a cornerstone of her own life.

In fact during our final conversation just days before she passed away in the Saratoga Hospital, Patty continued to express gratitude for the sunshine that had filled her life. The only time the gleam in her eyes flickered when she realized her hospitalization might cause her to miss seeing the look on a grandchild’s face when he opened a special gift from his Nona this Christmas.

I reminded Patty that because hers was not only an unsinkable spirit, but also a pioneering spirit, she should consider adding How The West Was Won to her list of movies to watch over the forthcoming holidays. It seemed to me that “The Unsinkable Patty Rutland” also possessed many of the qualities of Lilith “Lily” Prescott -- the determined daughter of a pioneer family who had been portrayed by Debbie Reynolds in that now classic western.

How many who grew up in a time when career options for young women were limited could boast founding a home-based business that was so committed to excellence, it was recommended to governors of NYS? Or who possessed the leadership qualities needed to successfully serve as a Rotary Club’s President, to be awarded a distinguished Paul Harris Fellow and to be more than once named the club’s Rotarian of the Year”? The fact that Patty also forged lasting friendships with Rotary International exchange students who viewed her as a “Rotary angel” speaks volumes about her humanitarian heart. She lived and breathed “Service Above Self.”

Then there were the ill and injured critters I witnessed her nursing back to health so they might one day be released back into their natural habitats.

I could go on for hours, but what I most want to say to those nearest and dearest to her heart of pure gold – her mother, Agnes, her children and grandchildren and Jeremy and Valerie -- is this:

Thank you for sharing her with the rest of us.

Patty Rutland took my breath away.

She will live on in my heart forever.


With deepest sympathy and love,

Ann Hauprich

December 2011