Patricia Ann Trainor

Patricia Ann Griffith Trainor was born to Dr. Francis and Cecilia Griffith on August 25, 1940 in Providence Hospital in Washington, DC weighing 5 pounds and a few ounces.  Her mom said she heard the Angelus bells ring when she woke up after the birth.  She was the fourth born in her family; her siblings included Francis Jr., Joan, Theresa, Bernard and Cecilia.  Growing up in Washington, DC, she attended Holy Comforter grade school and St. Patrick’s High School. 

She took piano and voice lessons to develop her musical talent.  Throughout her life, she joined choirs at Holy Comforter, St. Francis, St. Patrick’s and Mount Calvary where she sang solos for weddings and at Christmas.  Eventually, she shared her amazing voice, beautifully singing “Ave Maria” at each of her children’s weddings.

After high school she worked at the Justice Department, initially with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.  After transferring to Main Justice, she worked for six years in the Deputy Attorney General’s office (DAG) in the Legislative Dept. She was hands-on with the 1964 Civil Rights Act which became law in that year. 

Patricia met Paul J. Trainor, Sr. at a church youth group event in 1961.  They socialized in a larger group of friends in between Paul’s deployment with the United States Marine Corp.  She and Paul married on May 30, 1964 at Mount Calvary Catholic Church in Forestville, MD.  They welcomed four children over the years, Tish, Lisa, PJ and Laurie.  Patricia lovingly became a stay-at-home mother raising their children for 12 years. As a busy mom, she volunteered at the kids’ school in various roles including First Communion class instructor, teacher’s aide, and playground mother.  She attended every field trip available and also sang in the choir for Mount Calvary and loved it all.  Sharing, teaching and practicing her Catholic faith was an important part of life for Patricia.   She and Paul lived frugally to ensure that they could give their children the gift of a Catholic education from elementary school to high school. 

After a twelve-year hiatus from work, she began working at the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM&AW) first in the Organizing Dept. then in the combined Apprenticeship, Health and Safety (H&S) Department responsible for scheduling training at the Placid Harbor Center in Hollywood, MD and Community Services Departments responsible for blood drives and disaster relief checks.  Later she worked for the Scholarship Dept. and was part of the H&S and Apprenticeship Dept. for twelve years as well as IAM CARES and IAM CREST (grant programs to help handicapped adults obtain work).  In the Scholarship Dept. she administered to 60+ students coordinating everything from producing forms, collecting transcripts, paying checks, generating certificates for graduation ceremonies, arranging for union leaders to be present for them and advising all involved of the dates.  After 29 years she retired on December 31, 2009.

In retirement, she enjoyed volunteering for three years at St. Mary’s school in Upper Marlboro, MD while Kyle (her grandson) attended there.  In the ongoing years, she babysat for her grandchildren, bowled in a league, attended senior exercise classes, and joined a card playing group in Calvert County as well.  During this time, she planned trips to Hawaii for a 50^th wedding anniversary and a trip to Ireland where she saw her father’s childhood home and visited the church where he was baptized.  She ventured out with her husband on numerous trips to Delaware Park, Longwood Gardens and other local venues.  She traveled to various US cities with Laurie, Scott and her grandchildren.  The pandemic halted her travels but she looked forward to traveling again.

“Mamaw”, as the grandkids know her, was endlessly proud of her 10 grandchildren.  She loved to spend time with them, reading and singing to them, teaching them about the Catholic faith in addition to helping them with homework. She arranged most of her obligations to allow her to attend school events and as many of the sporting events as possible.  She enjoyed watching the kids play and you could find her cheering mightily from the sidelines!    She also loved getting together with the family at the home or during the summers in Ocean City, Maryland. 

Patricia is known by countless friends, family and neighbors as a sweet, kind woman, as well as smart and reliable.  Most were surprised to learn her age as she always looked many years younger.  Over time, she became a financial expert, watching the market and helping her children and grandchildren on the road to saving for the future. She served on her community’s welcoming committee and enjoyed meeting and getting to know new neighbors.  She’s a faithful witness to God and the Catholic faith.  Patricia held many roles as wife, mom, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, classmate, co-worker, neighbor and most importantly “Christian”.  She was a talented and kind-hearted person who liked to help out as much as possible. 

Patricia is survived by her loving husband of 58 years, Paul J. Trainor Sr., her children Patricia “Tish” Musselman (Patrick), Lisa Kost (Rob), Paul “PJ” Trainor Jr. (Lauren). She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Francis P. Griffith Sr., her brother, Dr. Francis P. Griffith Jr., and her daughter, Laura “Laurie” Brown and son-in-law Scott Brown. She is also survived by siblings Joan George (Ferris “Bo” deceased), Theresa Schmidt (Ronald deceased), Dr. Bernard Griffith (Christine), and Cecilia Bouvier (Del), and grandchildren Erin, Kyle, Jake, Jamie, Lindsay, Ciara, Alyssa, Ryan, Braylon, Caylee. She is loved and will be missed by all of her family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and church community.

The family will receive friends at Lee Funeral Home Calvert, 8200 Jennifer Lane, Owings, MD, 20736 on Tuesday, March 14, 2023 from 3:00pm – 6:00pm.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 1601 W. Mount Harmony Road, Owings, MD 20736 on Friday, March 17, 2023 at 10:00am.  Interment will follow at Jesus Good Shepherd Cemetery. 

The family would like to invite you to a live stream of the Mass of Christian Burial service  starting at 10:00am, March 17, 2023. Click on the link below.

Please note, when traveling to the Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, that access via the intersection of Mount Harmony Road and Route 4 is closed for construction.  Follow detour signs to Fowler Road, then turn left onto Mount Harmony Road.