Some of the most interesting people give to St. Anthony Foundation. And some of them have never been here. Pat Lamerdin, author, potter, painter, gallery owner, and friend of San Francisco’s poor, remembered St. Anthony’s in a handwritten will.

“Pat did not have direct contact with St. Anthony’s,” said her friend Sister Susan Knutson, OSF.  “She knew it only through the poor St. Anthony’s serves and had high regard for it.”

For ten years, the two women poured coffee and served soup once a week at another nonprofit offering hospitality, lunch, and assistance to its homeless neighbors. Many homeless people produced poetry and paintings there.  “I think the artist in her allowed her to connect with people who live on the streets and who are often artistic.”

Mrs. Lamerdin’s knowledge of the poor was extensive, personal and deep. “Before I met her ten years ago, Pat had written a book, Out in the Cold, based on her interviews with the homeless.  She had great compassion for people out on the street and down on their luck or mentally ill.  I believe that came from talking to so many homeless people one-to-one.”

Sheila Beck described her as “one of the original surfer girls.” Mrs. Lamerdin sailed with her husband around the world during her twenties and thirties; her husband once crewed Errol Flynn’s sailboat.

“You don’t have to be Catholic to get what St. Francis was about and to be drawn to the Franciscan way of life,” Sister Susan said.  “Pat got that.  We were an odd couple, but she loved the life I lived and loved the way St. Francis embraced everyone. I think she was a Franciscan at heart.”

For Legacy Circle information, call contact Barry Stenger at 415-592-2735.
or bstenger@stanthonysf.org.

Tags: planned giving

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