Patricia M. Cridland was born March 30, 1931 in Boston, MA to Thomas and Anne Montgomery. Her mother passed away when she was two, and she was sent to live in Woods Hole, MA with her beloved Granny.

     She attended Oberlin College and then went on to study in London England, where she met her first husband, Michael Cridland. They eventually settled in Manlius with their two children, Ward and Lee. Pat earned her master’s degree in Social Work from Syracuse University and began a long career as a social worker. Pat was the consummate social worker. Whether she was assisting couples to build a family through adoption or working at the county mental health department to find resources for families struggling to support a child with a disability, Pat always went beyond professional expectations. During her 20 plus years with the Syracuse Developmental Disabilities Office, Pat was never a “gatekeeper.” Instead she opened doors for families seeking community alternatives to the old practice of institutionalizing children with developmental disabilities. She believed all children had a right to a bright future. She fully embraced the best her profession had to offer.

     Pat and her second husband Bill Mangin enjoyed 38 loving years together in Syracuse and summers in Martha’s Vineyard with their family. They shared many friends in the Syracuse community and elsewhere around the world. Pat loved gardening, travel, long walks in the woods, her numerous dogs, PBS Masterpiece theater, and visiting art museums.

     She was pre-deceased by her son, Ward Cridland and her second husband, Bill Mangin. She leaves behind her daughter Lee, step-daughters Laura Wilk and Katrina Mangin, daughter-in- law Bridget Raftery and six grandchildren, Emma, Hannah, Jake, Katherin, Eren, and Kaia. 

     Services will be held at the convenience of the family.