Patricia J. Radke

Patricia Jane Radke was the kind of woman who made a house feel steadier just by being in it. She was faithful, funny, practical, tender, and mischievous, with a laugh that could turn a family table into a comedy club and a rosary that could move mountains. To her family, she was Mom and Grandma: the baker, bingo partner, prayer warrior, fishing champion, and the voice ending calls with “God bless you.”

Patricia was born on February 7, 1937, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Joseph H. and Leone VanLanduyt Fredericks. She entered the world in the late Depression years, when families held tightly to faith, work, thrift, and one another. It was a fitting beginning for Patricia, who would build a life around those same things, adding her own measures of humor, patience, sugar, and butter.

She grew up in Racine, where the lake was never far away and fishing was a cherished family tradition. Her father, Joseph Fredericks—known as “Joe Perch”—sparked her lifelong love of fishing, a love that followed her onto the shores of Lake Michigan, into memories of perch fishing on the North Pier in Racine, and to Sheboygan, where in 1992 she became the Grand Prize Winner of Salmon-A-Rama. Even later, when she was not holding the pole, Patricia still wanted reports about her children’s latest fishing successes.

As a young woman, Patricia lived across the street from the Radke family and knew Roy Radke’s younger sister, Kay, as a classmate. Every Friday, Patricia dressed up with the hope of seeing Roy. The plan worked. She and Roy married on April 11, 1955, at the Catholic Chapel in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and together built a life that was busy, loving, full, and rooted in Catholic faith. Roy remained the love of her life until his passing in 2018, and the family they raised became the center of Patricia’s world.

Motherhood suited Patricia because she had a seemingly bottomless capacity for loving children. Julie remembered coming out of church when her mother was in the hospital across the street, having just delivered another baby; Patricia would appear in the window, holding the newest brother or sister and waving to the children below. Years later, when Kurt and Loreen brought home Patricia’s first grandchild, Brianne, Patricia held the baby and began to cry. Asked what was wrong, she answered, “I want to have another baby.” That was Patricia: already surrounded by children, and still moved by the miracle of one more.

She was also a hard worker. When Patricia and Roy bought her parents’ older south-side home, the woodwork had been buried under layers of white paint. Patricia stripped the kitchen cabinets and every hardwood door in the two-story house by hand, often with a door balanced on sawhorses in the basement.

Her kitchen was another workshop of love. Patricia made homemade donuts, éclairs, cinnamon rolls, kringles, and peanut butter kiss cookies—the kind of treats children remember for their taste and for the suspense of finding where they had been hidden before Christmas. Baking could be an all-day production, with dough rising near radiators throughout the house. Once, when Mike and Dan were running through the house, they shook the floor so much that kringles slipped behind a radiator and between the wall. Her cousins were visiting, and instead of getting upset, Patricia let the moment pass with grace.

Alex and CC learned that baking with Grandma meant close supervision over directions and messes. When they tried to bake something, Patricia watched carefully, and the scene often ended the same way: Grandma made the dessert while CC, Dad, and Alex happily ate it. As Alex put it, everyone knew it tasted ten times better when Grandma made it. Patricia enjoyed working on puzzles, a quieter kind of patience that suited a woman who knew how to sit with small pieces until something whole appeared.

Faith was the thread running through Patricia’s life. A member of St. Rita’s Parish, she believed deeply in God, in prayer, and especially in the power of the rosary. Tricia remembered calling her mother during dark times, knowing Patricia would talk with her, reassure her that God was holding her in the palm of His hand, and then pray. Whether it was Patricia’s faith, the comfort of hearing her voice, or the strength of knowing she was lifting her daughter up in prayer, Tricia found peace, reassurance, and calm in her mother’s support. Claire remembered that Patricia ended phone conversations with “God bless you.” Her family believed that when Mom prayed the rosary, miracles happened.

Patricia was also wonderfully funny. On Sundays, she told the children to get to church; more than once, they grabbed a bulletin, spent an hour by the lake, and came home as if they had attended Mass, until Paul got busted when she asked which priest had said the service. At family gatherings, she might enjoy a brandy old fashioned and sit around the table laughing and talking. The wise family member learned not to sit directly across from her, because that was the person most likely to become the target of her jokes. If she was not being straight with you and started jiggling and laughing when asked to say it again, the truth had already given itself away.

That same lack of a poker face showed up during UNO games with Mike and the girls. When Patricia was about to win, a big smile spread across her face before the final card ever hit the table. She loved bingo, especially birthday outings to Potawatomi, with their friendly pot-splitting rules and the birthday person’s tiny advantage. Patricia went as many nights as Roy would let her, and those outings became less about winning than about time together.

Patricia and Roy also treasured holidays, trips, and family rituals. They enjoyed Fence Lake with Kurt’s family, Door County with Anne’s family, and Florence with Lisa’s family. They spent many Thanksgivings and Easters at Tricia and Darin’s home, watching Abbey, Lexie, and Ethan grow. Patricia and Roy were proud of each of them, and Tricia felt blessed by the close relationship her children had with their grandparents. Darin earned the cherished title of “Golden Boy,” a status so secure that he could break Patricia’s living-room rules with a cup of coffee and somehow escape scolding. When Patricia and Tricia later found a large “Golden Boy” mug at TJ Maxx, they laughed so hard Patricia shook; naturally, she had to buy it for him.

Patricia Jane Radke passed away on June 9, 2026, at Ascension All Saints Hospital in Racine, after 89 years of giving herself generously to the people she loved. She knew sorrow, but she also knew how to keep showing up—with food, jokes, a bingo card, and a prayer. Those who loved her will remember the giggle before the punchline, the smile before the UNO win, the smell of kringle dough rising, the words “God bless you” at the end of a call, and the comfort of knowing how faithfully she loved and prayed for them.

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Patricia Jane Radke, age 89, passed away Tuesday June 9, 2026, at Ascension All Saints Hospital. Patricia was born February 7, 1937, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Joseph H. and Leone (VanLanduyt) Fredericks.

Patricia was the beloved wife of the late Roy James Radke, whom she married April 11, 1955. Together they built a life centered on family, faith, and caring for those they loved. Roy preceded her in death in 2018. A faithful Catholic, Patricia was a member of St. Rita's Parish. She enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren, and found joy in baking, bingo, gardening, fishing and caring for others. She also cherished memories of vacationing up north in Florence and Door County. She spent her life devoted to her family and home, embracing her role as a homemaker with love, dedication, and grace. Patricia will be remembered for her kindness, strong faith, gentle spirit, and unwavering love for her family. Her legacy lives on in the lives she touched and the memories she leaves behind.

Pat will be dearly missed by her loving children; Kurt (Loreen) Radke of Northville, MI, Karl (Jacqueline) Radke of Racine, Lisa (Bob) Zemke of Caledonia, Khris (Janet) Radke of Oak Creek, Paul (Tina) Radke, Julie (Darrel) Johnson, Claire (Joe) Weiss, Tricia (Darin) Evans, Mike Radke, Dan (Janet) Radke, all of Racine; son-in-law, Philippe (Clara) Cooper; her grandchildren, Brianne, Megan, and Jillian Radke, Allison (Ade) Okuneye, Colette (Ray) Maroon and Matthew Cooper, Audra (Ashlee), Laurin, and Jameson (Lexi) Radke, Katie (Brad) Lauer, Nathan, Hanna, and Jenna Radke, Chase (Hailey) Johnson and Kaylee (Jimmy) Johnson, Will and Michael Weiss, Abbey (Jordan) Bower, Lexie (Robert) Bernal, and Ethan (Nicole) Evans, Alex and Charlize Radke, Andrew, Alaina and Aydan Radke; her great-grandchildren, Nadiah Radke and Aderemi Okuneye, Eva Radke, Brooklynn and Blaire Lauer, Levi, Ellie, and Emmie Bower, Hallie Bernal, Jak and Scarlet Johnson, Palmer and Tucker Radke, Landyn and Dillon Long, Sophia and Amira Maroon, and two more great grandchildren on the way; siblings, Roberta Noe, Thomas Fredericks and Jerry Fredericks. In addition to her parents and husband, Patricia was also preceded in death by her daughter, Anne Cooper; her grandson, Rob Zemke; and her siblings, Ronald (Marlene) Fredericks, Dolores (Chester) Olmstead, Lois (Charles) Rode, and Joan (Don) Hoaglund; in-laws, Sandy Fredericks, Dorothy (Bud) Boyce, Earl (Rita) Radke, Kay (Don) Engstrom and Terry Radke.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Rita Catholic Church, 4339 Douglas Ave, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, 11:00 a.m. with Rev Thomas Vathappallil officiating. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Garden Mausoleum, Hwy 32. Relatives and friends may meet with the family at the funeral home on Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and at St. Rita Catholic Church on Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. until time of Mass at 11:00 a.m.