Patricia Ann Lynch Zontine, 75, of Winchester, VA, died Monday, January 29, 2018 at her home.

Pat was born September 24, 1942, in Pittsburgh, PA, the daughter of the late James Ford and Florence Louisa Brown Lynch. She married Dr. David Zontine on the island of St. John, U.S. V.I. in 1965. She earned a B.A. in Educational Research from the University of Virginia in 1971. After living briefly in Ann Arbor, MI, Patricia moved with her family to Winchester in 1974.

Pat’s passion and dedication to historic preservation began shortly after making Winchester her home, and continued throughout her life. She was director of the Preservation of Historic Winchester Revolving Fund from 1978-1982 and served on the boards of the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, Belle Grove Plantation, and the Friends of the Handley Library. She was proud to receive the Ben Belchic award which “recognizes a significant contribution to understanding Winchester's history.” This was a meaningful acknowledgement as Mr. Belchic had been her friend and mentor.

Patricia was elected president of PHW in 1988. Her proudest achievement as President was the Kurtz building renovation at Cameron and Boscawen streets--at the time, the biggest project PHW had undertaken. She was later appointed by the governor as an advisor from Virginia to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. From 2002-2005, Pat was the Coordinator of Shenandoah University’s Civil War Interpretive Visitor Center where she oversaw exhibits and planning for the University’s new History and Tourism Building.

Patricia was the founding President of the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley at Glen Burnie. She provided research for the Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks exhibit at Monticello in 2009, and was given the “Lifetime Achievement” award from Preservation of Historic Winchester in 2016.

For all of her professional achievements, her family remembers “Nana” for her love of reading, history, entertaining, gardening, Jane Austen, and BBC television. She loved traveling home and abroad, and launched the tradition of “Nana Trips,” special getaways with just herself and a few lucky grandchildren at a time. These trips have become treasured memories that each of the grandchildren has of time with their Nana. Perhaps her favorite spot in this country was Martha’s Vineyard, and from 1983-2005, Pat spent most of her summer on the Island. Her family’s favorite memories include dinners at the Black Dog, bicycle rides to Edgartown, and having lobster rolls while watching sunsets in Menemsha.

She is survived by her two children, Carrie Zontine Coulson and her husband Joseph of Charlottesville, VA, and Matthew Zontine and his wife Susan of Winchester; grandchildren, Sam, Lucy, and Henry Coulson; Hannah, Jakob, Catherine, Graham and Eliot Zontine, as well as her husband, Dr. David Zontine. She is preceded in death by her brother, James Ford Lynch.

There will be a Celebration of Life at the Frances Barton Event Center, 124 W. Boscawen Street, Winchester, Saturday, February 3rd at 5 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in honor of Patricia Zontine may be made to the Shenandoah University Conservatory through the Office of Advancement at www.su.edu/departments-offices/giving/how-to-make-your-gift.