Patricia Stoycos Loucks

Patricia Stoycos Loucks, 85, died on Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at Homestead Village in Lancaster, PA following a long illness. She was born on May 29, 1938 to the late Marshall and Eleanor Ross in Mattapoisett, MA, the small and beautiful coastal town where she grew up. She was a graduate of Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts. Prior thereto, she attended the Northfield School for Girls in Northfield, MA. Following college, she moved to New York City and worked as a proofreader for McGraw Hill. Following marriage and the birth of a son, she moved with her family to Cleveland, OH. They relocated to Lancaster in 1966, where she gave birth to a daughter. Over the next 30 years, she worked as a part-time proofreader for The Fulton Press, a real estate agent with Puffer & Associates, and a volunteer in the Fulton Opera House box office. Patricia was a fiercely devoted wife and mother and dedicated her life to the happiness and well-being of her family. She had many dear friends with whom she enjoyed spending time. She was an accomplished and prolific watercolorist who won numerous awards for her paintings. She was a member of the Lancaster Art Association and displayed her work at local art shows. Her style and technique evolved in her later years from a traditional approach to one involving vibrant opaque colors that often incorporated elements of collage. Her remarkable imagination, creativity, and vision also manifested with home renovations, which gave her great joy. In 1980, she worked with an architect and builder to transform a stone mill built in 1770 that had provided flour for General Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War into a modern home where she and her family lived for many years. She was deeply passionate about the eight cocker spaniels that she raised over the years. She enjoyed traveling and went to many interesting destinations, including a walking tour of England, visits to Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, and France, several trips to Greece, the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, and the Island of Tortolla, British Virgin Islands, a place that she and her first husband loved. She was a member of Highland Presbyterian Church, and later the Unitarian Universalist Church, both in Lancaster. She was preceded in death by her parents; her first husband of 35 years, Alexander V. Stoycos and her second husband of 23 years, John A. Loucks, both of Lancaster. She was also predeceased by three sisters-in-law, Veronika Ross of Fairhaven, MA; Anna S. Loucks of Cookeville, TN; and Joan S. Mokas of Dayton, OH as well as a stepdaughter, Billie Ann Kuklinski of Charlotte, NC. She is lovingly survived by her two children, William R. Stoycos, Lancaster, PA and Sarah M. Stoycos, Rockville, MD; her brother, John M. Ross, Fairhaven, MA; two grandchildren, Noah B. Stoycos, Winston-Salem, NC and Alexander L. Stoycos, Lancaster, PA; and four stepchildren and their spouses: John A. and Susan D. Loucks, Colorado Springs, CO; Stephanie L. and Robert H. Burcham, Knoxville, TN; Gregory L. and Karen K. Loucks, Newport Beach, CA; and Michael T. and Deborah P. Loucks, Knoxville, TN. She is also survived by a brother-in-law, Harry Mokas, Jr., Dayton, OH, six step-grandchildren, and five step-great-grandchildren. A private graveside service will be held at Cushing Cemetery, Mattapoisett followed by a meal. Relatives and friends will be invited to a memorial service in Lancaster to be held at Homestead Village at a later date. Memorial gifts in Patricia’s name may be directed to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741, (435) 919-3835, bestfriends.org.