Patricia Aldyen Austin Buckley ( Taylor; July 1, 1926 – April 15, 2007) was a Canadian-American

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

, noted for her fundraising activities. She was the wife of conservative writer and activist

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...

and the mother of writer Christopher Buckley, their only child.

Life

Born in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, to a wealthy family, Patricia Taylor had tutors and attended

Crofton House School Crofton House School, in the neighbourhood of Kerrisdale in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a private university-preparatory school for girls that is tied for first place in the Fraser Institute's rankings of schools in British Columbia. ...

. She was one of the three children of

Austin Cotterell Taylor Major Austin Cotterell Taylor, CBE (January 17, 1889 – November 1, 1965) was a Canadian mining executive and developer, financier, and philanthropist in developing thoroughbred horse racing in British Columbia. Background Born in East York, On ...

, a self-made industrialist, rich from lumber and mining. Her mother, Kathleen Elliott, was a daughter of the chief of police of Winnipeg. Pat went to

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in 1948 but left to marry William F. Buckley Jr., the older brother of her Vassar roommate, Patricia Lee Buckley. (Patricia Lee Buckley later married

L. Brent Bozell Jr. Leo Brent Bozell Jr. (; January 15, 1926 – April 15, 1997) was an American conservative activist and Catholic writer, and former United States Merchant Mariner. He was a conservative Catholic, and a strong supporter of the anti-abortion mov ...

, and they were the parents of conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III.) William and Patricia Buckley had one child, writer Christopher Buckley. Aside from their home in Stamford,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, the Buckleys also had a Park Avenue duplex in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and leased the Chateau de Rougemont, a former monastery, near

Gstaad Gstaad ( , ) is a town in the German language, German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. It is part of the municipality of Saanen and is known as a major ski resort and a popular destination amongst high society ...

, Switzerland, for winters. Her dark sense of humour was manifested when economist

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

brought

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

to visit the Buckleys at Rougemont one winter. Kennedy asked if he could borrow a car to go back to Gstaad. Pat replied, "Certainly not—there are three bridges between here and Gstaad." In 1975, she was named to the International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame created by

Eleanor Lambert Eleanor Lambert (August 10, 1903 – October 7, 2003) was an American fashion publicist. She was instrumental in increasing the international prominence of the American fashion industry and in the emergence of New York City as a major fashion c ...

. She served as chairwoman of the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

Costume Institute The Anna Wintour Costume Center is a wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art The Met Fifth Avenue, main building in Manhattan that houses the collection of the Costume Institute, a curatorial department of the museum focused on fashion and costume ...

benefit Benefit(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Benefit'' (album), by Jethro Tull, 1970 * "Benefits" (''How I Met Your Mother''), a 2009 TV episode * "Benefits", a 2018 song by Zior Park * ''The Benefit'', a 2012 Egyptian action film Busin ...

from 1978 to 1995, making it a major event on the charity social circuit. Other focuses included the

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute– designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Its main campus is ...

, the

New York University Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an integrated academic health system located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New Y ...

, as well as

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veterans. She became a

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

in the early 1990s.

Death

Patricia Taylor Buckley died in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, aged 80, after a period of ill health. Her widower reported in ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', following her death in April 2007, that her "infirmities dated back to a skiing accident in 1965. She went through four hip replacements over the years. She went into the hospital a

fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

ago, but there was no thought of any terminal problem. Yet following an infection, on the seventh day, she died, in the arms of her son." Her son, Christopher Buckley, added "Sixty-five years of smoking cigarettes, with attendant problems of circulation, had taken their toll. A few days before, an operation to install a

stent In medicine, a stent is a tube usually constructed of a metallic alloy or a polymer. It is inserted into the Lumen (anatomy), lumen (hollow space) of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open. Stenting refers to the placement of ...

nto her leg... went wrong, and a mortal infection set in."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Patricia 1926 births 2007 deaths Philanthropists from New York (state) American socialites Canadian socialites Buckley family Canadian emigrants to the United States Deaths from lung disease People from Stamford, Connecticut People from the Upper East Side People from Vancouver Vassar College alumni William F. Buckley Jr.