Patricia Ann Augenstein

Patricia Ann Augenstein

December 15, 1949 – July 7, 2023

She gave her everything to others, to whom she was somewhat of a saint.

Patricia Ann Augenstein of Westfield, NJ, passed away on July 7, 2023, after a very brief illness and a very rich life.

Trish was born on December 15, 1949 at Rahway Hospital, to Julia Byrnes (nee Buczek) and Robert Patrick Byrnes. She was the third of three children and grew up in Roselle, NJ, in a little house on Heather Lane where she once had a pet duck but where her mother passed away when Trish was 15. She graduated from Abraham Clark High School, where she was a cheerleader and promising visual artist.

After a short stint in college, Trish employed her skills as a commercial artist for years. She was a diligent confidant in these heady years to many lifelong friends who knew Trish as a lovely, plucky young woman.

Trish married Wayne Augenstein, also originally from Roselle, after a long acquaintance and short courtship. Their marriage was one lasting about forty-five years, including all the requisite twists and turns of such a union. They raised two sons, David and Seth. They lived in an old house in Westfield, where there were fish tanks, cats, and mostly harmony. She loved horror movies, and the occasional glass of Carlo Rossi in the kitchen.

Trish’s artwork was beloved by family and friends. She painted a “Green Lady” at a young age which is especially prized. She sculpted some old Medieval robed figures with heads downcast. They were expressive in every corner, every crag; they found their way into several collections – and even into a Rutgers fraternity house. She taught art at various schools over the years. She was also part of a show at The Artist Framer in Cranford several years ago which was well received. It was a happy moment for her, and her talent.

She raised her two children to know right from wrong, and better from worse, if they so choose to deploy such knowledge. She is also adored by grandchildren Julia (20), Jake (8), Isabel (6), and Adeline (3), all of whom call her Gaga. The youngest two especially loved her rendition of The Irish Rovers’ “The Unicorn” (“Don’t you forget my unicorn!”)

In a life well-lived, she was admired and sought after by all who met her. She had a sense of others, and others’ needs, and how she could help. She was an empath, and one with responsibility to her fellow human. She was very active with the Reformed Church of Linden for approximately forty years. Her sense of right and wrong, and the everlasting, was unerring. She would roll her eyes at that last sentence.

The world is poorer for her loss. Those who did not know her missed something unique, and fantastic. In this only plane of existence we know, she had only friends.

Trish is survived by her husband Wayne; son David and wife Anne Marie (nee Spatola); son Seth and wife Amy (nee Paterson); the aforementioned adoring grandchildren; and friends too legion to mention.

Visitation will be held on Friday, July 14, 2023 from 4 to 8 PM at Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave., Westfield. A funeral service will take place at 7:30 PM.

In lieu of flowers, seize every moment and keep your loved ones close amidst what someone once called, “this thing we call life.