Jan’s daughter Kathryn, has reached out with the incredibly sad news that her mother died on 24 May 2024 after a battle with cancer. Kathryn has kindly shared this tribute to her mother, delivered at her funeral by Jonathan, Kathryn’s husband. 

Much has already been said about Jan/Mrs P., the remarkable and inspirational teacher, who bestowed such invaluable and enduring life skills upon her students, such as self-expression, self-confidence, and the power of your voice. That is already a great deal, but Jan was so much more than this. An unforgettable teacher and mentor, yes, but also a loyal friend, an affectionate companion, an avid scientist, a diligent researcher, an expert bird-bander, a capable windsurfer, a mellifluous choir member, a knowledgeable gardener, and of course, a loving mother, who always wanted the best for her two precious children, Kathryn and Rohan. 

Jan’s life was a fine blend of Science and the Arts, of learning and performance, she was as keen on her bioscience and birdwatching as she was on singing and dancing. 

Jan won a scholarship to MLC School and in her final year she was a Senior Prefect and the Dux of the Class of 1964. She went on to graduate from the University of Sydney with a BA and then attained a Dip Ed. After an eye-opening practical in New Guinea, her first proper teaching position was at a primary school in Western Sydney.

After moving to Armidale in 1977 with her husband Graham and their two children, she joined the local Toastmistress club, signed up for tap dancing lessons, and later became a proficient windsurfer. She loved the sensation and unbridled freedom of zipping across the water, propelled by the wind. She said about windsurfing: “So much of my life was confined to timetables, and so windsailing was liberating.”

But even all this wasn’t enough to occupy the ever-busy Jan, so she enrolled at the University of New England (UNE) to study both Drama and Human Bioscience – topping the course in Bioscience. When the fellow delivering an external course was injured and unavailable to continue, Jan was invited to lead the course. This opportunity led to her being invited to tutor in Human Bioscience at UNE.

In her pursuit of bioscience:

• She wrote an in-depth study of Marmosets (monkeys native to South America).
• She became a qualified bird-bander, completing 200 hours of formal training to recognise each birds’ gender, age, feather pattern and calls. She became an expert ‘twitcher’ and was able to mimic many bird calls and could distinguish between the calls of a vast number of birds. 
• She became a competent reef tripper. She did 11 reef trips in all with each one built the skills and knowledge base for the next.

Jan was of course a formidable public speaker. She won Toastmistress of the Year, both regionally and at State level, at least 12 times. And one year, as the Australian national winner, she was invited to join a cruise along the west coast of Canada to compete internationally, and came third.

Perhaps best known in Armidale as Speech and Drama teacher ‘Mrs P’, her career stretched over 40 years and she made such a difference to countless young lives. 

She was ‘Aunty Jan’ to so many in her wide circle of family and friends. She was always generous with her warm attention, her tinkle laugh, her loving embrace, and her kisses – freely dispensed with her trademark red lipstick!

Later in life Jan established an OBE tradition, that started with her father Bob. It was to give friends and family, who reached the age of 80, an OBE ‘Only Bloody Eighty!’. She may have only made 76, but we will still award her an OBE – and this will stand for: ‘Outstanding, Brave, and Eloquent’. Just yesterday, a friend of hers said “Even as Jan’s illness progressed, and even while undergoing relentless rounds of chemotherapy, her particular radiance stayed undimmed”.

Jan was achieving right to the end. This year she was sent an award from the NSW Australian Music Examinations Board. It was a Certificate of Distinction for most outstanding private teacher of Speech and Drama for 2023. That was the indomitable, remarkable Jan Patterson – quietly and modestly achieving to the end. 

Jan will be greatly missed by all whose lives she touched. But especially by her son, Rohan, and her daughter, Kathryn. We remember her fondly, we celebrate her legacy, and we strive to be inspired by her example and to live the life as she would wish for us: to bravely seize each day, and most of all, to be kind to one another.