Patricia B. Korcheck
Patricia B. Korcheck (née Bishop) of Mentor, 78, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 9, 2025, with her two daughters by her side. She was born in Cleveland on July 12, 1946 to Ralph and Margaret Bishop (née Segreto) and graduated from Hoban Dominican High School. She attended St. John College where she earned an education degree in 1967. In 1970, Pat met the love of her life, Pete, at a Halloween party while both were graduate students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The story goes that Pete asked her to marry him four days later on his birthday but she said, “not yet.” They were engaged a few months later on Valentine’s Day and said “YES” on April 8, 1972, remaining devoted to one another for 30 years until Pete’s death in 2002.
Pat began her teaching career in Illinois and also taught in the Cleveland Public Schools. Starting in the 1980s, she taught briefly at Sterling Morton, and later spent many years at Brentmoor Elementary in Mentor. Her students adored her, and even as adults, would lovingly recall their time in her classroom.
Pat had a reverence for nature and wildlife, especially enjoying time at the Holden Arboretum or in her backyard among the “dear deer” and the birds. She was always up for an adventure and had a childlike curiosity, appreciation, and wonder for the world and every human being she met. She loved to talk to virtually everyone, celebrating successes and providing support on bad days, whether you were the grocery store clerk she’d just met, a plumber in her home doing repairs, her new mailman, or one of her many life-long friends. Pat felt deeply connected to the parish of St. Cecilia’s (Cleveland), where she grew up and was later married, and where she continued to be involved until its closing in 2010. A long-time parishioner of St. Mary of the Assumption in Mentor, her faith was unwavering and she continually sought to enhance her spiritual life through volunteer work, retreats, creative pursuits, prayer, and reading, especially Mary Oliver and Thomas Merton. Although she wasn’t Irish, she unabashedly pretended she was, traveling multiple times to Ireland and always yearning to return.
Pat was dearly loved and appreciated by friends from the many worlds she was a part of – her church communities, her neighborhood, her teaching, and her volunteer work. But it was her identity as a mother and grandmother (Gramma or “G-Maw”) that filled her with the greatest joy. For over a decade, she proudly and regularly drove out to Iowa to visit her grandson, making the trip alone and in one day.
Pat was preceded in death by her husband, Mitchell “Pete” Korcheck; parents, Ralph and Margaret Bishop; her brother, Ralph W. Bishop Jr.; and mother-in-law, Antoinette Korcheck. She will be missed forever by her children: Kathy Korcheck Martinek (Jeff) and Marjorie Korcheck (Andrew McKeown) and her beloved grandson, Nikos Martinek. She will also be missed by her granddog, Rosie, and her grandkitty, Peli.
A memorial mass celebrating Pat’s life will be held Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 10 am at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 8560 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060. Following mass, please join the family for light refreshments and a brief reception. Private interment will take place at Mentor Municipal Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Thea Bowman Center, 11901 Oakfield Ave., Cleveland, OH 44105, donate online at: https://www.theabowmancenter.org/#donate; The Holden Arboretum (Holden Forests & Gardens, P.O. Box 74422, Cleveland, OH 44194-0002), donate online at: https://holdenfg.org/; or Hospice of the Western Reserve, P.O. Box 72101, Cleveland, OH 44192, donate online at www.hospicewr.org.