Vale Pat Murnane

Dear Members and Friends of St David’s and the wider Parish

It is with much sadness that I advise that Pat Murnane passed away Wednesday morning at Monash Medical Centre, Clayton.

Pat had numerous trips to hospital during 2022 finally moving into Scotchman’s Creek Aged Care facility at Mt Waverley recently.  She moved to a new room closer to the action and was settling in well under the circumstances.  Many of her family and friends helped her to celebrate her 90th Birthday in August and she enjoyed the day.

Since Union, Pat was involved in the Parish of East Oakleigh having been part of the Huntingdale Presbyterian Church.  When Balkara was formed in 1992 she continued to be involved at St David’s Uniting in Oakleigh.

Pat was involved in lots of things around the Parish including the Wattle Club and Community Services both of which were fundraisers.  She was good at getting that extra bit of income for these events be it the Smorgasbord lunch after Sunday worship – with a guest speaker on the topic chosen – or extra stall holders for Market Day.  We cannot forget the Fashion Parades, initially at Huntingdale and later at Oakleigh, until COVID intervened.  It was interesting the day after to see ladies appearing at church in their new outfits. She had previously fundraised by organising bus trips and movie days.  She also managed the donations for Pancake Day and continued after it moved to Clayton with its BBQ and chefs to help with the cooking of the pancakes.

Our concerts were also a time to support a cause and Pat was involved in organising the initial ones and greeting people at the door.  Pat also continued with the Child Fund where people could put aside $2 per month to help a child in need.

For many years now, Pat has edited the Monthly News and made sure it was a balance between informative articles and some fun.  She liked to see what recipe could be included and always enjoyed and vetted the humour items.

Another part of her involvement in the church was managing the hall hire at St David’s.  She would ensure that users paid and casual users had the appropriate public liability before being allowed access.

Pat has been a member of St David’s Church Council and Secretary of the Congregation for many years.  She was also an active member of the Parish Church Council.

For some time now she had been involved in the Oakleigh Trimmers – a weight loss group who liked their company and more recently supported the congregation.  Outside of church she would volunteer at different places – to keep active and be involved in the community.  When Kat and Lyn were younger, she was involved in Huntingdale Calisthenics and made many costumes for performances.

There are probably many other aspects of the last 90 years that could also be shared. 

Until recently Pat was a regular at church and she will be missed by all of our members. 

We send our sincere condolences to Kat, Lyn and the extended family.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Funeral details are yet to be finalised and will be circulated shortly.  It is expected that notices will be in the Herald Sun on Saturday and the service later next week.