Renée’ has been in regular attendance for the Breath Practice starting back in the early days of the pandemic. She lives in New Brunswick, Canada. After the passing of Pat, her dear elder friend, Renée’ wrote in on June 6 to make a request for the metta* list and sent the following story. Renée wrote:
Pat Noddin was an amazing woman! What an inspiration! I met her many years ago in adult skating sessions. She greeted everyone that walked in the dressing room door, especially the new people, to ensure everyone felt welcomed. She always encouraged everyone on the ice (from the learn-to-skate kids to all the adults), commented on their progress and cheered them on. She knew absolutely everyone in the rink. If attendance was low, she took it upon herself to recruit people to ensure there was enough registration so the sessions could take place.
Pat and I would skate around the ice, chatting along. She told us all the stories about wanting to do “fancy skating”, starting off on a pond as a child, and then learning as an adult in her 50s. We would always chat in the dressing room after our skating sessions, always the last to leave.
Pat is one of only 3 people who attended all the adult national championships. When she wanted to attend an international/world championship and they told her she was too old, she wrote and rallied everyone, and, thanks to her, the age limit was removed and she was able to attend.
In 2019, even a fractured hip and hip replacement were not going to slow her down. Well actually, it slowed her down temporarily. The recovery from her hip replacement unfortunately meant she had to miss an international competition she was supposed to attend in Lake Placid.
When her skating friends found out she couldn’t attend, they knew it wouldn’t be the same without her. So, they took a picture of Pat, made a cardboard cut out, and brought this with them. This became “Flat Pat”. Flat Pat was just as social as real Pat. Oh yes, she attended the opening and closing ceremonies, sat in the stands to cheer on her friends, and of course, was always available for anyone who wanted to take a selfie. Pat got a real kick out of this when all the pictures started pouring in!
But this recovery period was not going to keep her down. No, she got back on the ice and continued to skate to the wonderful age of 88. She even competed in an international competition in Austria just 3 weeks after being medically cleared to skate again. Many stories and interviews were published about her in local, national and international outlets.
Pat was so famous she even skated with some of Canada’s most famous skaters: Don Jackson, Brian Orser, and Kurt Browning (who all signed her skates). We called her the “Super Star” of the gang. She would laugh at that and repeated it back to us in a chuckle. The black and white photo of her with skates was taken by a famous local photographer, Maurice Henri, who included her in one of his exhibits, “Wisdom of the Ages” (again, adding to her famous status!).
She collected and recycled bottles to pay for her competitions and private lessons so I would always pass along all my recycling. We would load up her car in the rink parking lot or at the coffee shop and one day we wondered, “Does this look funny to people?…like we are doing some kind of drug dealing operation in the parking lot?” and then we would laugh and started calling it our “parking lot business”.
We went out for coffee, a group of 4, “the girls”, and joked and laughed our heads off with silly stories. We exchanged small gifts at Christmas and she would always make us cards with her drawings and some of her poems. She always had a smile on her face and had the most contagious positive energy and laugh. She had such energy that we kind of took for granted that she would always be around. This adds to the disbelief that she is gone.
I remember years ago, as we skated our laps, she told me “Renee, when I die, I want my ashes to be placed in my skates and I want you all to take me around the ice for one last skate.” And that is what we did on June 7, 2025; Pat was in her happy place, on the ice for one last time.
Pat was one of my favorite people, a beacon of light and positivity, a pure loving accepting soul. I will miss her greatly!
Short video of Pat at age 77: “Skating is spiritual to me.”
Read and watch a video of Pat, age 83, about her comeback at the 2020 Winter World Masters Games in Austria.
Read the official obituary here.
To communicate with Renée, contact Joyce who will forward your message.
*Metta is a practice of loving-kindness. Brian Henderson leads metta on Friday mornings after Dynamic Gentle Yoga Breath and Movement Practice. Sangha members can submit requests in advance for metta to be extended to loved ones.