Patricia (Pat) Clegg Hawkes of West Tisbury died peacefully on Oct. 22 at the Royal Nursing Home in Buzzards Bay.

People are surprised to learn that this very British woman was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1924. Pat was only a few weeks old when her family moved back to England. She grew up in Wallasey, Cheshire in NW England, where she got her deep love of the sea and a bit of north-country skepticism and thriftiness. Her school, Wallasey High School for Girls, was damaged by German bombs when Britain entered World War II, but Pat was able to graduate from there in 1941. As part of the war effort, she moved to London to study nursing at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital School of Nursing.

While there, Pat met her future husband Peter, a dashing young medical student with thick wavy black hair. In order to work on the same ward, they kept their engagement a secret until they married in 1946. England was still under rationing so Pat had to save her coupons to buy her wedding outfit. In 1948 and 1953 respectively, their son Robert and daughter Jane were born at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.

In 1958, the family boarded the RMS Queen Elizabeth and headed to America. After a few moves, the family settled in Connecticut in 1961, first in New Britain and finally in Southington. Pat quickly involved herself in volunteer activities. Her nursing skills came in handy when she served for several years as captain of the day at local Red Cross bloodmobiles. She became an active member of the St. Martha’s Guild with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

An avid gardener with keen interests in horticulture, conservation, and flower arranging, Pat joined the New Britain Garden Club in the early 1960s. She was elected club president for three terms. Pat was highly regarded for her skill in flower arranging, particularly for her subtle Japanese-like style. Her arrangements were always striking and often whimsical. She was awarded the Silver bowl (the top honor in the annual New Britain Garden Club flower show six times.

Pat was a great supporter of the arts and a dedicated volunteer with the Women’s Committee of the New Britain Museum of American Art for many years. Her work at the museum took on many forms, from staffing the gift shop, helping with fundraisers, to entering data into the computer. Each Christmas the garden club would decorate a tree for the museum’s festival of trees. Pat and a few other garden club members created ornaments and whimsical figures using only natural materials. The tree became so popular that Pat and her friend Jane Darnell set about co-writing a how-to book on making these ornaments. Pat also drew the illustrations. The book Pods & Odd Bodikins was published in 1979. (Pat and Jane could often be found at construction sites seeking out and digging up wildflowers to save them from the bulldozers’ paths.)

A lifelong advocate for exercise, Pat enjoyed yoga, water aerobics, cross-country skiing, and swimming. At age 40, she took up golf, in part to spend more time with her husband. Eventually, she became good enough to win several local tournaments at the Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington, Conn.

When not playing outside or volunteering, Pat enjoyed traveling with her husband. Their trips included golf in Scotland, a barge trip along the canals through France, a trans-Canada train journey, and many forays through the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest and southern areas of the U.S.

She continued to enjoy all these activities through her early eighties. In the fall of 2007, Peter retired, and the couple moved to Martha’s Vineyard. Unfortunately, ill health severely limited Pat after the move. Still, she still enjoyed bird watching, reading books from the West Tisbury Library, and, of course, a bit of gardening. Each Christmas Pat continued the tradition and decorated a small tree with her beloved pods and odd bodikins.

She is survived by her husband Peter; son Robert of Cleveland, Ohio; daughter Jane and her partner Allison McKinley of West Tisbury; grandson Sebastian Orr and his fiancé Lucy Horns of Chicago, Ill.;and daughters in law Penny Orr of Chardon, Ohio and Sue Soltis of Cleveland, Ohio.

The family wishes to express deep gratitude to the following people who showed Pat great kindness and care over these past few years: Lara Uva and Elizabeth Rohr of the VNA; caregivers Katie Vieira and Sarah Toste; Sandy Corr-Dolby of Horizons Geriatric Care Management; all the West Tisbury EMTs and Sgt. Garrison Vieira; all the kind folk at the Lab, ER and Acute Care of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital; Dr. Julia Stunkel; and finally all the lovely care givers at the Henrietta Brewer House.

Donations can be made in her memory to the West Tisbury Library, the New Britain Museum of American Art, or the Humane Society of the United States.

No service will be held.