In Memoriam: Patricia "Pat" Stearns

COLORADO SPRINGS. Patricia “Pat” Stearns, mother of Father John Stearns, died Nov. 12, 2025, at age 87. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Dec. 10 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, followed by burial at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Kiowa.  

Pat was born on June 13,1938 in Taft, California, one of three children born to Florence and Andrew Murray. In 1965, she married Allan Stearns, a pilot and a major in the United States Air Force. Allan also had a 10-year-old son, Mark whom Pat adopted. On July 20, 1967, Allan was shot down and killed in Vietnam. Mark went to live with his grandparents and, with some help from her parents, Pat raised their only son, John, by herself while working as a paralegal. Later in life, she worked at All Things Catholic in the Chapel Hills Mall.

Pat always loved her faith and shared it with everyone she met. In her 80s, she enrolled in the Denver Catholic Biblical School and completed their four-year program. At the graduation Mass, Archbishop Samuel Aquila mentioned her as the oldest person to ever graduate from the school, saying, “You are never too old to learn more about your Catholic faith, Holy Scripture and Jesus Christ.”

In addition to Father Stearns, Pat is survived by her stepson Mark; her sister Mary Eitel (George); her sister-in-law Carolyn Murray; and several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the “Patricia C. Stearns Memorial Fund,” which is established in her memory as an emergency fund for priests in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. Donations may be sent to: Diocese of Colorado Springs, ATTN: Jamie Crane, 228 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903.