"I lived a magnificent life, made friends wherever I went,
had successes in life and a few failures, but no regrets"  Pat Fitch

Princess, Sister, Patsy, Diva, Trailblazer, Role Model, Champion for Others, Glamour Doll, Pretty Girl, and Golden Girl.  These are but a few of the many names given lovingly to Patricia Maria Fitch, the third of the five children, but the first girl born to the late Milton Frederick and Cora Jordan Whitted Fitch on April 23, 1948.  She departed this life on March 3, 2020.

Living life on her terms, Pat may or may not have set out to be a trailblazer but she was, first for her sisters and then for others.  Having a sense of style, fashion and a flair for color and drama, Pat often thought and sometimes said that if she saw an item first, her sisters were not supposed to get the same item as it was meant for her.  She took piano lessons but somehow never got around to teaching those lessons to the twins though the assumption was that she would.  The same was true about the clarinet that she and Christine played.  Once Pat achieved the status as the 1 ^st chair in the Charles H. Darden Concert Band, Christine followed in her footsteps to become the 1 ^st Chair once Pat had left the band.

Growing up in Jackson Chapel First Missionary Baptist Church under Rev. Talmadge Watkins, Pat always had a role in the Christmas and Easter programs, participated in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and the Junior Choir, eventually becoming the piano accompanist.  Pat excelled academically and was a member of the National Honor Society.  She blazed a trail for her sisters as they too became members of the National Honor Society and by becoming the Charles H. Darden High School Homecoming Queen in her sophomore year of 1963-64.  This was followed by Ernestine becoming Homecoming Queen in 1964-65 and then Christine in 1965-66.

Then the true trailblazing moment occurred for Pat in the school year of 1965-66.  It was then that the Wilson City Schools implemented its school integration plan of "Freedom of Choice".  Pat along with three other students bravely and courageously took the step to integrate and enrolled at Ralph L. File High School, leaving the beloved Charles H. Darden High School.  This was Pat's senior year and she became the first Black/African-American to graduate from Fike.  Despite having left Darden, her efforts did not go unnoticed and her lifelong friends continued to include her in class reunion activities as their classmate through the years.

Upon graduating from Fike, Pat went to the "Home by the Sea", Hampton University where her grandfather, Walter C. Whitted had been a student.  After earning her bachelor's degree, Pat enrolled at the North Carolina Central University School of Law.  While there she became a proud member of the Durham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  Having earned the Juris Doctorate of Law and passing the Bar, Pat joined the law firm of Fitch, Butterfield, and Sumner, becoming the 1 ^st female African-American to practice law in Wilson.  Additionally she became a community organizer/activist and focused her work with youth in the area.  She was also active with the Wilson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta of which her mother, Cora Whitted Fitch was a Charter member.

Seeking a warmer climate, more challenges and adventure, Pat sought and received an appointment as the Territorial Attorney General to the U. S. Virgin Islands and settled in St. Thomas, US VI.  Pat later became the female Legal Counsel for the Virgin Islands Port Authority.  In that role she was instrumental in negotiating bonds that led to widening and extending runways and was an integral part of a team that modernized the St. Thomas Airport from a WWII hangar to a modern worldwide jet port.

While in St. Thomas, Pat met and married Keith Ambrose.  To this union, Amber Cora Fitch Ambrose was born.  It was during her residence in St. Thomas that Pat spearheaded efforts to charter the St. Thomas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and became the chapter's first President.

As Amber approached her middle school years, Pat returned home to Wilson.  Having retired from practicing law, Pat began working in the non-profit arena, first with WCIA (Wilson Community Improvement Association) and then OIC (Opportunities Industrialization Center). Always involved behind the scenes in politics, Pat offered herself unsuccessfully for positions of Wilson County Clerk of Court, and the Wilson County Registrar of Deeds and she always encouraged others to become involved in the political process.

Moving for a short time to Charlotte, N. C., the love for and pull of her daughter and grandchildren drew Pat to return to her beloved St. Thomas.  In St. Thomas she basked in the warmth of the sunshine, her family ( Amber, Michael, her four grandchildren who lovingly called her Mimi), her involvement with the St. Thomas Delta Chapter, and fellowshipping with friends with whom she enjoyed playing Bid Whist, Bridge and other card games.

Pat leaves to cherish her memories:  her daughter, Amber; her son-in-love, Michael Motylinski; her grandchildren Madeline Daisy, Scarlett Pearl, Marek Ambrose and Vesper Josephine Motylinski; her brothers Dr. Jerome Fitch and State Senator Milton F. "Toby" Fitch; her sisters Dr. Christine Fitch and Ernestine Fitch, MD; her nieces Ericka Fitch Hart, Kimberly Fitch Lee and husband Tyrell and Melonie Fitch; her nephews Michael J. Fitch, MD and wife Ashlee and Milton Bradley Fitch; a very special great-niece, Jordan A Hart, along with other great-nieces and nephews Caleb, Abbie, and Micha Fitch; T. J., Kaden and Karson Lee, Kortne and Trevion Fitch, and Nia Fitch; Sisters-in-Law Jessie D. Fitch and Judy Kay B. Fitch; a very special cousin Tommy & Gail Gilmer; very special friends JoAnn Mondowney, Sharon "Niecey" Hamilton, Wanda McMillion Brown, State Representative Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Hillis Edelen, Hilda Joyce, Hazel Leaphart, Diana Jones-Wilson, Pat Henry, Margaret Quick, Jeanette Hollingsworth, Pat Alexander, her 1966 Darden High School Golden Girls-Vera Stevens Chapman, Marilyn Nicholson Woodard, Lillian Knight Fauntoy, Bettie Hill Atcherson, and Gwyndia Reeves Trast; her Darden High School classmates; her Bid Whist Group, Sorors of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and friends and loved ones too numerous to name.

An Omega Omega Service will be held in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Patricia M. Fitch Scholarship Fund c/o Christine Fitch 516 S Lodge St. Wilson, NC 27893.

"Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I set out to sea…"

(Alfred Lloyd Tennyson)

Local funeral arrangements are by Edwards Funeral Home, Inc. Direct condolences to edwardscaares.com