Passionate Environmentalist
Patricia Rose Matisse 鈥�59
November 15, 2024, in Spokane, Washington.
Born in 1929 in Oklahoma, Patricia Rose Matisse grew up during the Great Depression. Her mother was often unable to care for her, so Rose spent her childhood in and out of a Catholic orphanage and on the farm of her aunt.
Rose’s intrepid spirit took her to California, where she graduated from Berkeley. Later, she studied general literature at Reed, then went on to teach English at Spokane Falls Community College, where she worked for 25 years.
A passionate environmentalist, Rose committed every facet of her life to conservation. She wore snowsuits in her house to avoid using gas for heat, watered her plants with dishwater, and biked to work even when it snowed.
Rose was preceded in death by her former husbands, Theodore and Orville.
Appeared in Reed magazine: Fall 2025
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From the Archives: The Lives they Led
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