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Obituary for Patricia Lee Cencich
. Patricia Cencich, 84, danced into Jesus’ loving embrace surrounded by her family on July 23, 2021. She was ready to meet her Lord!
Patricia was born in Centerline, Michigan, in 1937, to John and Lulu Hanley (with siblings Earl and Arlene, predeceased). She attended Centerline High School, was a cheerleader, and her classmates from the Class of 1955 still remain close friends. She married Larry Cencich in Aurora, Colorado, at age 17, while he was stationed at Lowry AFB. They returned to Michigan to raise their family: Nancy, Cathy, and Tom. She loved being a mother and wife! Patricia returned to school when her children were older, and got a college degree in commercial art. Her first job as a commercial artist was illustrating the newspaper ads for K-Mart. Once moving to Colorado, she illustrated books for Baptist Publications.
Patricia and Larry (IBM) had homes in Sterling Heights (Michigan), Evergreen, Boulder, Longmont (Colorado), and were snowbirds in Green Valley (Arizona). After Larry’s death in 2008, Patricia had homes in Westminster and Littleton. Once she made a friend, she was a friend for life. Lifelong BFFs were added once she became a successful residential realtor in Evergreen. Together, Patti, Linda, and Patricia traveled the world and had regular lunches—for more than forty years.
After losing her husband Larry, she was blessed to find love a second time with Gil Tellis. You could always find Patricia and Gil laughing, traveling, or dancing. They had an amazing group of friends who danced several times a week with them. She never seemed to really age—a bit woman and cheerleader and child and mom all the time. Her spirit was kind, honest, and wise, and she always could find time for a new quest or escapade. And, oh my, she sure did know how to have fun!
Patricia loved her family and friends well. She loved new adventures and experiencing different cultures. She relished being on a boat, a cruise ship, or taxi somewhere across the world. Stamps for places in France, Italy, Scotland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Brazil, Croatia, and Israel were just a few of those decorating her passport. Her love for travel was in her DNA, and she passed that along to her children and grandchildren. She often invited them for trips or cruises, “Want to go to Mexico?” During her five-year cancer journey she continued to travel internationally and domestically, stating firmly, “I can be sick on vacation or sick at home. Let’s go.”
Patricia lived life to the fullest. Every day was an adventure to be embraced. She was an amazing sibling, wife, mother, artist, businesswoman, and friend. Life was always so much fun if Patricia was around. She had a strong, quiet Christian faith, and attended church regularly at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church. She had the most gracious and appreciative attitude and is now resting in the loving arms of her Savior.
She is survived by her three children, Nancy Arp, Cathy Strait (Brad), Tom Cencich (Claudia), nine grandchildren, and six great granddaughters. She will be greatly missed.
Our family would love to express our appreciation to Dr. Embry-Schubert, Dr. Mentor, and the oncology team at Kaiser. She has been lovingly cared for as well by Compassus Hospice, her children, and Gil at her home since January.
Patricia’s memorial service will be her church, Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, 10150 E. Belleview Ave, Englewood, CO (www.cherrycreekpres.org), on Friday, July 30th at 11 am, with a reception following.
Service live streaming on Friday at 11 am, and recorded for viewing: https://cherrycreekpres.org/memorial/.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to her favorite ministries: Hope for the Fatherless (https://hopeforthefatherless.com - an Ethiopian orphanage), Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church (www.cherrycreekpres.org) or the Salvation Army (www.salvationarmyusa.org).
