Patricia Carson Mordecai, former chief operating officer of the Episcopal Church Center, died Feb. 7. She was 80.
She was a graduate of the College of Wooster, where she met her first husband, Charles (Chuck) K. Nason. She was married to Nason for 24 years and raised their children in Wayland, Massachusetts. In 1985, she married Donald D. (Don) Mordecai.
From 1998 until her retirement in 2006, she served as COO at church headquarters, overseeing a $34 million renovation of the building.
“The chief operating officer exercises a ministry of care and oversight on behalf of the presiding bishop. I can think of no one more suited to that task than Pat Mordecai,” said the Rt. Rev. Frank T. Griswold III, 25th presiding bishop.
“Her previous diocesan, seminary and parish experience, together with her well-developed ability to balance close attention to the proper working of the systems under her charge with respect and care for those engaged in the work at hand, made her the right person at the right time. Pat was a wonderful colleague and a dear friend.”
A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. March 2 at her home parish in retirement, the Church of St. Mary, 43 Foreside Road, Falmouth, Maine.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, those wishing to remember her make a donation to the Island Institute, P.O. Box 648, Rockland, ME 04841.
Adapted from ENS
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
