Patricia Ann (Franklin) Mercaitis

Patricia A. Mercaitis, age 76 of Prairie du Chien passed away Friday, December 30, 2022, at Gundersen Health System in LaCrosse, WI. She was born in Oregon, IL on March 5, 1946, the daughter of Fulton and Elizabeth (Himes) Franklin. She grew up in a rural farmhouse near Mount Morris, IL and worked numerous jobs growing up, including telephone operator, cook, bartender, taxi driver, counselor at a women’s shelter, truck driver, and the family-owned fishing lure company Bill’s Bait that produced The Worm fishing lure. Patricia married Stephen Mercaitis on April 4, 1983, in Rockford, IL and together they moved back to the Millville area to their dream fixer up farm that they always wanted to own. They spent years making the farm what it finally became – a place everyone loved to spend time at. She then worked for Grant Social Services for many years until retirement. After retirement, Pat volunteered at the prison in Prairie du Chien and other local charitable organizations. She loved spending time with her family, grandchildren, pets, and friends. She loved to travel to look for antiques and good food as she knew that travel required tasty food. She was an avid outdoor person as she loved to garden, ride her horse, hike, or sit by the creek and look for rocks with her kids and grandkids. She was up for sledding, making snowmen, 4-wheeling, and going into the woods to look for morel mushrooms. She also loved cooking for family and friends, playing scrabble or bridge, reading, and attending book club, and going to her bible study that started over 25 years ago with her group of friends and confidents. Pat’s husband Steve preceded her in death on February 4, 2020. She is survived by her children Darrin (Debbie) Klapprodt and Darci (Todd) Knapp; her sister Toni (Dick) Spink; her stepchildren Christopher (Maura) Mercaitis and Stephanie (Allen) Robertson; her grandchildren Noah, DJ, and Krissy Klapprodt, and Kaitlyn and Ben Knapp, and Hannah, Lauren, Kyleigh Kramel and Daniel Robertson; her great-grandchildren Evan and Rachel; her niece Michelle and nephews Chris and Tim. She was preceded in death by her parents.  

A Celebration of Pat’s Life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Rivers & Bluffs Animal Shelter in Prairie du Chien. 

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