Patricia Navratil

Patricia Lee Navratil, 82, died August 5 in her beloved home of 45 years in Chadron, Nebraska.

Mother of five and grandmother of six, Pat devoted herself not only to her family but also to her friendships and community. For the past 25 years she belonged to P.E.O., the Philanthropic Education Organization for women. For two of the past five years, Pat expanded her circle of grandchildren by serving as a Foster Grandparent in Libby Uhing's 2nd grade classroom at East Ward Elementary School. Pat recently retired as treasurer of the Friends of the Chadron Public Library.

Pat's energy and determination defied her arthritis and overcame two broken hips. Carrying her cane, she traveled frequently, just three weeks ago to two family reunions in Minnesota.
It was there, in Minneapolis, that she was born and raised as the youngest of four Halverson girls. After graduation from Roosevelt High School, she became an airline stewardess, as flight attendants were known in the 1950s. She flew for Braniff International Airways in St. Louis, Mo., and Northwest Orient, then met and married chiropractor John Henry Navratil.
Their family grew to six in Litchfield, Minn., when the pioneer impulse struck her husband. They relocated to Chadron, where their last child was born. They then settled in their final home on 8th and King Streets.

Pat built and nurtured 50-year friendships at Ridgeview Country Club, in the family cabin at Lake Angostura, and around the card tables in her various bridge clubs. She helped lead her daughters' Girl Scout troop and 4-H Club and taught religious education at Old St. Patrick's Church.

"Five children - and I never heard her raise her voice," Charla Marchant recalls her father Bob Hinman saying after performing handyman work at the Navratil house.
As her children grew older, Pat took classes at Chadron State College and worked part-time at Chadron Community Hospital, Nebraska Public Power, First National Bank North Platte, and Nebraska Health & Human Services.

She performed assorted good deeds through RSVP, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Birthright and the Flower Mission.

Pat appreciated Northwest Nebraska's beauty and culture. She organized a Halverson family reunion at Fort Robinson in 2005, drawing relatives from around the country. The night before her death, Pat saw "Cabaret" at the Fort Robinson Post Playhouse with her eldest child, Ann, and Ann's mother-in-law, Phyllis Burk.

"What a beautiful way to close a life well-lived," said Marilyn Pedri of Fort Collins, Colo., a fellow former flight attendant and friend of Pat's since 1957. "Just the week before, we had talked about her coming to Colorado and we would go see her friend Celia Stacy. She was full of plans to the very end."

Pat is survived by her children Ann Burk (husband Randy) of Chadron; John Navratil of Broomfield, Colo.; David Navratil (wife Akxeeta) of Dallas; Paula Glenn (husband Mike) of Arvada, Colo.; and Wendy Donahue (husband P. Kevin) of Chicago, as well as grandchildren Alec and Zachary Burk, Emma Navratil, Peyton and Kellen Glenn, and Nora Donahue. She also is survived by her sisters Janet Holland and Arlene Halverson.

She is preceded in death by husband John, sister Marilyn Ramberg and parents Thomas and Lovina Halverson.

Memorial donations are being accepted at Chamberlain Chapel, P.O. Box 970, Chadron, NE 69337, with contributions going to the P.E.O. Chapter BL Memorial Scholarship Fund and the John Navratil Family Endowment at Chadron State College.

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