Patricia Viets

On December 23rd, 2018 longtime Green Bay resident Patricia Viets died peacefully with her family by her side. She was 91 years young.

This remarkable woman was born in Wauwatosa on October 31, 1927. Her father, Horace Powell was a feature editor for the Milwaukee Journal. Pat received her journalism degree from UW-Madison. While at the UW she met her future husband John and they were married in 1951. Shortly thereafter John was drafted into the military and served in the Korean War. After the war the young couple settled in Wisconsin to raise a family and eventually settled in Green Bay with their 3 boys Stewart, Stephen and Curtis.

Pat and John became very active civically, particularly in the Green Bay Symphony and many other organizations. Pat was a member of AAUW and PEO nationally as well. Her writing found an outlet with the Green Bay Press Gazette as she free-lanced often as a reviewer for Symphony concerts as well as Art reviews and her wide range of subjects even included an interview with then NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle. Her lifelong passion and devotion to the arts was exemplified when Pat led a volunteer group- Art$ Inc- to the Madison capitol rotunda in 1979, where the group of several hundred performers and speakers lobbied for more funding to be provided in the state budget in support of the arts in Wisconsin. Their efforts succeeded, achieving significant increases in financial backing.

She went on to assist Dudley Birder at St. Norbert College in De Pere, ultimately being named director of informational services. In addition, after her father passed on, she took over as editor and publisher of Y Drych-the national monthly newspaper for Wales with avid subscribers around the globe- for over a decade. Pat’s close friends and family will remember Pat’s elegance and grace over the years under all circumstances. She wielded an incredible power of positive thinking and her devotion to her friends endeared her to them. She was in fact a “woman’s woman”. She had a deep love of poetry throughout her life and even during her last months would recite her favorites from memory.

Her children remember the many parties she and John hosted at the family home in Allouez. As well her grandchildren remember the wonderful summers with her up in Door County which they cherish in their memories. Pat not only wrote-she was a gifted painter and her love of music resulted in her forming a well-known early music group that she led for over 25 years, well into her 80s. Up until recently-an avid reader-she read the Sunday NYTimes and watched the nightly news as she always wanted to be current on the latest world events.

She gave us all so many gifts and although we all will miss her terribly, she will always be with us. Pat is survived by her 3 sons: Stewart (Chaz) Viets, Stephen (Gina) Viets, and Curtis (Kathy) Viets, along with 6 grandchildren: Alex (Allen) Viets-Grove, Jordan (Shauna) Viets, Alec Viets, Jana Viets, Taylor (M’lyn) Viets, and Olivia Viets, and one great grandson Cal (Alex and Allen), who she was delighted to see one week before she passed. Pat was pre-deceased by her husband John in 2014.

A memorial service for Pat will be announced at a later date. Cotter Funeral and Cremation Care is assisting the family.