Patricia “Pat” Croy

BRUNSWICK – Patricia “Pat” Croy, née Patricia Anne Johnson, passed away peacefully with loving family by her side on the morning of April 8, 2026, in hospice in Scarborough. She was 90 years old.

Pat was born on Aug. 4, 1935, to John R. Johnson Jr. and Harriette E. Johnson (née Whitney). She grew up in Gorham and South Windham, and graduated from Gorham High School in 1953. She went on to earn a B.A. in Art History from Boston University in 1957 and later worked toward an MBA at the University of Southern Maine.

In 1955, she married Ernest F. Croy, with whom she raised four children. Over the years, Pat made her home in South Windham, then Ashland and Holliston, Mass., North Yarmouth, Standish, Portland, and Peaks Island, before settling in Brunswick in 2004 to be closer to family.

After nearly two decades devoted to raising her family, Pat pursued a professional life. She worked as a landscape architect in the mid-1970s, then as a bookkeeper at Shively Labs in Maine, and as a manager with the Girl Scouts of Maine in Cape Elizabeth.

Pat was an active member of various churches over her lifetime: First Congregational Church in Ashland, Mass.; St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Holliston, Mass.; North Yarmouth Congregational Church; churches in Windham and Portland; and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick.

Pat’s spirit of service extended well beyond her local community. In the 1960s, she volunteered at Garden in the Woods in Massachusetts. Most remarkably, in 1996, she joined the United States Peace Corps and served in Lesotho. Back home, she contributed to Respite Care and served on the Willow Grove Landscape team. She also organized a monthly women’s discussion group and a weekly Mahjong group.

An avid traveler, Pat explored the world with curiosity and joy. Her first trip, to Montreal with two of her children, sparked a lifelong love of travel that took her to China, England, Hawaii, Norway, Scotland, the Western United States, and Mexico, often in the company of dear friends.

Pat was a passionate gardener and a member of the North American Rock Garden Society. At Willow Grove she transformed her backyard into gardens that bloomed from spring through fall, hanging a Welcome sign to invite neighbors to enjoy them. She gardened until hospitalization stopped her. A longtime member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, she was a hiking enthusiast. She also had many other hobbies/interests throughout her life: piano, knitting, sewing, jigsaw puzzles, Mahjong, and reading.

Strong-willed and resourceful, Pat was a woman who verbalized a conscious choice never to give in to fear. Above all, she was a devoted mother with a love for all children.

She was predeceased by her parents; her daughter, Linda J. Croy Heal Freudenberger; her former husband; her friend, Dory Gilman; and her sister, MaryLou Johnson Nielsen Freudenberger.

Pat is survived by son, Matthew Croy, daughter, Alison Croy Weymouth and her husband Joel Weymouth, and son Jonathan Croy; as well as 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 30 at Hillside Cemetery in Gorham, followed by a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. at Pat’s Willow Grove home.

To honor Pat’s memory, consider sharing flowers with someone you care about, like she did.