Life drew peacefully to a close for Pat at age 95 on March 3, 2019. With her beloved family nearby, she embodied to the end the dignity and grace she had shown throughout her life.

Born November 18, 1923, at Rideout Hospital in Marysville, Pat attended Elizabeth Elementary, a one room school in Olivehurst, Yuba County, followed by high school at her mother's alma mater, Notre Dame in Marysville, and Yuba College.

As part of the social change of World War II, Pat went to work as secretary to the manager of Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Colgate Division. Marrying the late Edward N. Carlton in 1946, she worked as a mother and homemaker until sons Dennis Edward Carlton and Gary Michael Carlton were in high school, when she joined Ed for 30 years as bookkeeper for Photo-Tech, a family business in Chico and Marysville. At the same time, Pat was a leader in Boy Scouts and Little League, a contributor to community outreach activities of Phi Epsilon Pi sorority, and a fundraiser and passionate supporter and advocate of the missions of St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Notre Dame schools. She also was an avid golfer, bridge player, and celebrated cook and hostess.

With Pat and Ed's sons and daughters-in-law, Dennis and Wendy, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Gary and Mary Lynn, of Placerville, Pat particularly enjoyed a warm and loving bond after Ed's death. Her life was greatly enriched by three grandchildren: Matthew Alan Carlton (Lisa), Daniel Edward Carlton (Ana Marie), and Rebecca Anne Carlton (Meg Tabaka), along with 4 great-grandchildren: Jillian, Allison, Piper, and Eleanor.

Pat was descended from two pioneer families of Yuba County. Her mother, Mary Ellen McGowan Boardman, was one of eight children. Mary Ellen's father, Edward McGowan, and mother, Johanna Donovan, emigrated to the US in the 1870s from Counties Longford and Limerick in Ireland. Traveling West to California at different times, Edward, leaving Ireland alone at 15, and Johanna, being younger and departing with her family, met and fell in love in Marysville, marrying in 1885.

Pat's paternal grandfather, Cassius F. Boardman, graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and began teaching at a school for the blind in New York. Here he met Mary R. Moore, a blind student. After their marriage, they sailed around The Horn to San Francisco. Settling in the Sierra Nevada foothills during the Gold Rush, Cassius taught school for several years before commencing life as a farmer in the Erle District of Yuba County. Cassius and Mary raised six children, including Alfred Alonzo Boardman. "A.A." Boardman and Mary Ellen McGowan, Pat's parents, had four children, Josephine (Andrews), Mary Patricia, Alfred, and Betty (Frandrup). At her death, Pat continued to own, and to grow rice on, a portion of the family ranch, which dates back over 150 years to its creation by C.F. Boardman.

A Visitation vigil will be held at Lipp and Sullivan Funeral Home, 629 D Street, Marysville, CA, from 5 to 7 PM on Thursday, March 7, followed by recitation of the Rosary. A Funeral Mass will be held the following day, March 8, at 11 AM, in St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 702 C Street, Marysville. A graveside burial service will be held on Saturday, March 9, at 10:30 AM at Sierra View Memorial Park, Olivehurst, CA. Memorial contributions to St. Joseph's Catholic Church are suggested.
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