Obituaries

Patricia "Patti" (Birch) Grant, age 44, of Townsend, MA, passed away peacefully on April 2, 2023 at home in the arms of her loving husband Billy Jo.

Beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend, Patti leaves her husband of 22 years, Billy Jo Grant and her son Hunter Grant; her father James Birch of St. George, ME; her sister Virginia Marchant of Auburn, MA and partner Paul Malenfant; her sister Sandra and husband Jason Clark of Oxford, MS; and her brother Stephen and wife Heather Marchant of Auburn, MA. She leaves nieces and nephews Gerard Falco of Boston, MA, Simcha (Sarah) Schnee, Joshua Schnee, Sloane Clark, Elliott Clark, Jonathan Marchant and Owen Marchant, as well as her adopted family, Vicki and Larry Hoff, and numerous friends. Patti also leaves her two cherished Vizslas, Punkin and Spice.

Born on August 16, 1978, Patti grew up in Waterbury and Pomfret, CT, the fourth child of Gail and Allen Marchant. As a teenager, Patti lived in Townsend, MA, where she was adopted by her stepfather, Jim Birch and earned a H.S. diploma from The Bromfield School, Harvard, MA in 1996. She graduated from Atlantic Union College in 2000 with a Bachelor’s in Human Services, and earned a Master of Social Work from Boston University in 2007.

In addition to being a loving wife to Billy Jo and incredible mother to Hunter, Patti loved people and dedicated her professional life to counseling adults and children with Autism and other diagnoses. She worked as a residential counselor and case manager for the Riverside School, as a clinician for the Dr. Franklin Perkins School and as a therapist for Copernican Clinical Services.

A compassionate and skilled therapist, Patti opened her private practice as an LICSW in 2012, and continued to provide therapy for adults, teens, children and families for 8 months following her ALS diagnosis. Patti loved dogs as much as she loved people, working at a doggie day care, more for the time she could play with the dogs than for the money. An avid runner and bicyclist, Patti loved being outdoors, and most of all, going to the beach. She also enjoyed hiking, rock climbing, skiing, ziplining, and playing racquetball. Patti loved life and adventure – she did not allow ALS to keep her from adaptive skiing on Wachusett Mountain for two winters or from taking to the skies in a hot-air balloon. Patti also loved all types of science fiction- both Star Trek and Star Wars- and enjoyed attending many ComiCons dressed as “Nurse Cause,” the head-turning sidekick of Billy Jo’s “Dr. Affect.”

Patti’s family extends their heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Haatem Reda and staff of the ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic, Melissa Daly and the Massachusetts Chapter of the ALS Association, Martha and the staff of Compassionate Care and to Moira and the nurses of Beacon Hospice.

A Celebration of Life will be held for Patti on Saturday, April 8, 2023, at 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM at The Bull Run, 215 Great Rd., Shirley, MA.

Anyone wishing to make a donation in Patti’s memory should please send their gift to the Patti Grant Adaptive Ski and Outdoor Recreation Fund, c/o the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, 370 Main St., Suite 650, Worcester, MA 01608 https://greaterworcester.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2452 and/or the ALS Association, Massachusetts Chapter, 685 Canton St #103, Norwood, MA 02062. https://donate.als.org/give/287064/#!/donation/