Patricia C. Wolfington

Mary Patricia C. Wolfington, 88, of Chester, MD, died peacefully on Tuesday, January 31, surrounded by her four children at Hospice of the Chesapeake in Severna Park, MD. Mrs. Wolfington, a longtime resident of Hainesport, NJ, was the town’s first Republican woman to be elected and serve as Mayor during the mid-1980s after winning election to the Hainesport Township Committee. At the time, Hainesport and Burlington County were undergoing significant, rapid development and she oversaw a number of zoning and development changes along with a new master plan and the widening of Rt.38. While mayor, she was honored to welcome and meet First Lady Nancy Reagan in Medford, NJ, when Mrs. Reagan visited a local camp and girl scout troop with her “Just Say No To Drugs” campaign.

Born August 4, 1934, in Trenton, NJ, her first brush with success came early in life after she wrote a letter to General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1944 to compliment him on how he had guided the invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy in World War II. General Eisenhower wrote a thank you reply to “Patsy Concannon” and the story ran on wire services across the globe and landed Patsy on the front page of the New York Times. She was in 4th grade. Her late cousin Harry Manley loved to share the story because while on military duty in the Pacific, he stepped over the article, looked down and couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw his young cousin in the Stars and Stripes.

Prior to mayor, Mrs. Wolfington was a successful realtor and broker in South Jersey and was a member of the Hainesport School Parent Teacher Association. She began her career as a registered nurse in public health in Philadelphia before she wed Robert H. Wolfington in 1959. Both had attended the same grade school in Drexel Hill, PA, and met again after going to separate high schools. Married 39 years, her husband was vice president of Wolfington Body Company, a school bus dealership with offices in Mount Holly, NJ; Exton and New Buffalo, PA, until his passing in 1998 from cancer.

They had 4 children, Mary Pat Wolfington Larralde (Jesus), Henry A. Wolfington, Robert H. Wolfington, Jr., and Elizabeth A. Wolfington; four grandchildren, Alexandra Babka (David), and Gabriela, Julia and Daniel Larralde; and great granddaughter, Claire Patricia Babka. Mrs. Wolfington and her husband were members of St. John Neuman Parish in Mount Laurel, NJ, for many years.

Relatives and friends are invited to her Viewing 9:00-10:00 AM on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 at The Donohue Funeral Home, 8401 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA 19082, followed by her Funeral Mass 10:30 AM at St. Dorothy Church, 4910 Township Line Rd., Drexel Hill, PA 19026. Int. SS Peter & Paul Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Priests of the Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart Monastery, PO Box 900, Hales Corner, WI 53130.