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| Plucky, 100-year-old Patricia Weissenborn seemed on the verge of beating covid-19 | Plucky, 100-year-old Patricia Weissenborn seemed on the verge of beating covid-19 |
| (12 days later) | |
| She had spunk enough at age 19 to go to the courthouse in rural Montana in 1938 to change her name to match a movie star’s. | She had spunk enough at age 19 to go to the courthouse in rural Montana in 1938 to change her name to match a movie star’s. |
| In her 20s, she ditched her job teaching in a one-room schoolhouse and headed solo to Oregon, for office work at a shipyard gearing up for World War II. | In her 20s, she ditched her job teaching in a one-room schoolhouse and headed solo to Oregon, for office work at a shipyard gearing up for World War II. |
| She insisted on driving into her 92nd year, outfoxing her daughter, who had purposely locked the keys in the car, by calling AAA and then hiding her Oldsmobile. | She insisted on driving into her 92nd year, outfoxing her daughter, who had purposely locked the keys in the car, by calling AAA and then hiding her Oldsmobile. |
| So it seemed possible that at age 100, plucky Patricia Weissenborn might just get the better of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. She appeared to be turning the corner on May 1, 10 days after her diagnosis, when she got out of bed and sat in a chair all day, eating lunch and reading the newspaper. | So it seemed possible that at age 100, plucky Patricia Weissenborn might just get the better of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. She appeared to be turning the corner on May 1, 10 days after her diagnosis, when she got out of bed and sat in a chair all day, eating lunch and reading the newspaper. |
| “We all said, ‘My God, she’s beat this,’ ” said Tina Villeneuve, one of four daughters who, barred from visiting Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, rejoiced over a progress report texted late that afternoon. | “We all said, ‘My God, she’s beat this,’ ” said Tina Villeneuve, one of four daughters who, barred from visiting Greenspring retirement community in Springfield, rejoiced over a progress report texted late that afternoon. |
| When a nurse called two hours later to say Weissenborn had died, Villeneuve couldn’t believe it. | When a nurse called two hours later to say Weissenborn had died, Villeneuve couldn’t believe it. |
| “I started arguing with the nurse. I said, ‘What? No, no, my mother’s doing much better,’ ” said Villeneuve, who lives in Williamsburg, Va. | “I started arguing with the nurse. I said, ‘What? No, no, my mother’s doing much better,’ ” said Villeneuve, who lives in Williamsburg, Va. |
| The caller explained that by dinnertime, Weissenborn had grown tired, and a nurse offered to put her back to bed. Weissenborn got in and took a breath — her last. | The caller explained that by dinnertime, Weissenborn had grown tired, and a nurse offered to put her back to bed. Weissenborn got in and took a breath — her last. |
| “She took this breath and that was that,” Villeneuve said. | “She took this breath and that was that,” Villeneuve said. |
| Born Agnes O’Brien on Dec. 6, 1919, Weissenborn grew up in the eastern Montana town of Baker, founded just 11 years earlier. A grandfather, Daniel O’Brien, had fought in the Civil War. | Born Agnes O’Brien on Dec. 6, 1919, Weissenborn grew up in the eastern Montana town of Baker, founded just 11 years earlier. A grandfather, Daniel O’Brien, had fought in the Civil War. |
| Named for an aunt, young Agnes acquired a nickname from a movie star of the era, Pat O’Brien. She legally changed her name to Patricia in 1938, the year her Hollywood namesake played the priest opposite James Cagney’s gangster in “Angels with Dirty Faces.” | Named for an aunt, young Agnes acquired a nickname from a movie star of the era, Pat O’Brien. She legally changed her name to Patricia in 1938, the year her Hollywood namesake played the priest opposite James Cagney’s gangster in “Angels with Dirty Faces.” |
| “That’s a lot of chutzpah,” Villeneuve said. “I wonder how Aunt Agnes felt about that.” | “That’s a lot of chutzpah,” Villeneuve said. “I wonder how Aunt Agnes felt about that.” |
| Weissenborn was the second of four children born to Edward O’Brien, the town banker, and Gertrude, a homemaker who went by Dollie. She should have been the third. A year earlier, the 1918 flu sickened the couple, and Dollie, then pregnant, miscarried. | Weissenborn was the second of four children born to Edward O’Brien, the town banker, and Gertrude, a homemaker who went by Dollie. She should have been the third. A year earlier, the 1918 flu sickened the couple, and Dollie, then pregnant, miscarried. |
| Edward died of pneumonia in 1929, and Dollie supported the family through the Depression by taking in boarders. | Edward died of pneumonia in 1929, and Dollie supported the family through the Depression by taking in boarders. |
| “I’m a child of the Depression,” Weissenborn would remark decades later, whenever she would squirrel away money or leftovers. | “I’m a child of the Depression,” Weissenborn would remark decades later, whenever she would squirrel away money or leftovers. |
| She attended what was then Great Falls College on a scholarship and taught school in her home state for a year. She didn’t like it much and moved to Portland after getting a letter about a job opportunity from a friend who had already gone West. | She attended what was then Great Falls College on a scholarship and taught school in her home state for a year. She didn’t like it much and moved to Portland after getting a letter about a job opportunity from a friend who had already gone West. |
| There, she worked in the office at Swan Island Shipyard, paying $16 a month to live in a boardinghouse for women until her mother and siblings could join her. | There, she worked in the office at Swan Island Shipyard, paying $16 a month to live in a boardinghouse for women until her mother and siblings could join her. |
| After the war, a couple she had met in Portland fixed her up with their son, Donald Weissenborn, a naval aviator who had served in the Pacific and was soon off to postgraduate school at the U.S. Naval Academy. | After the war, a couple she had met in Portland fixed her up with their son, Donald Weissenborn, a naval aviator who had served in the Pacific and was soon off to postgraduate school at the U.S. Naval Academy. |
| They married at the academy’s chapel on Oct. 14, 1946. It was a Monday, their planned Saturday ceremony having been bumped by a home Navy football game. | They married at the academy’s chapel on Oct. 14, 1946. It was a Monday, their planned Saturday ceremony having been bumped by a home Navy football game. |
| The couple had five children and lived in El Paso, Norfolk, Falls Church and San Diego before Donald Weissenborn’s final assignment, at the Pentagon, led them to settle again, and for good, in Falls Church. | The couple had five children and lived in El Paso, Norfolk, Falls Church and San Diego before Donald Weissenborn’s final assignment, at the Pentagon, led them to settle again, and for good, in Falls Church. |
| Witty and mentally sharp to the end, Weissenborn attributed her longevity to white zinfandel, which she called “the pink stuff.” She proudly wore a crown and sash that read “centennial babe” at a 100th birthday party thrown in December by Villeneuve and her other daughters: Kelley Weissenborn of Alexandria; Casey Finn of Leland, N.C.; and Moira McCormick of Arlington. | Witty and mentally sharp to the end, Weissenborn attributed her longevity to white zinfandel, which she called “the pink stuff.” She proudly wore a crown and sash that read “centennial babe” at a 100th birthday party thrown in December by Villeneuve and her other daughters: Kelley Weissenborn of Alexandria; Casey Finn of Leland, N.C.; and Moira McCormick of Arlington. |
| The daughters, who plan to have her ashes buried beside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery, held a virtual viewing for just the four of them. With Weissenborn’s image on their screens, they said the Hail Mary and, spontaneously, Kelley Weissenborn sang “’Til We Meet Again,” a song they said Donald used to play for his wife on the ukulele. | The daughters, who plan to have her ashes buried beside her husband in Arlington National Cemetery, held a virtual viewing for just the four of them. With Weissenborn’s image on their screens, they said the Hail Mary and, spontaneously, Kelley Weissenborn sang “’Til We Meet Again,” a song they said Donald used to play for his wife on the ukulele. |
| Weissenborn had her share of heartbreak. Her husband died after suffering a heart attack in 1991. Her only son, Brien, died on his 71st birthday in 2018 after a long struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Her only great-grandchild, 2-month-old Bradley Bailey, died of sudden infant death syndrome on Weissenborn’s 98th birthday. | Weissenborn had her share of heartbreak. Her husband died after suffering a heart attack in 1991. Her only son, Brien, died on his 71st birthday in 2018 after a long struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Her only great-grandchild, 2-month-old Bradley Bailey, died of sudden infant death syndrome on Weissenborn’s 98th birthday. |
| But the woman known as “Grandee” to her eight grandchildren always mustered the will to keep going. | But the woman known as “Grandee” to her eight grandchildren always mustered the will to keep going. |
| “She was very resilient, very tough,” Villeneuve said. “My husband calls it Irish stubbornness. It’s really determination.” | “She was very resilient, very tough,” Villeneuve said. “My husband calls it Irish stubbornness. It’s really determination.” |
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