Patricia Eloise Hartzler Arand

Our mom had many names. To her family she was Patty. To her children she was, of course, Mom. To
her grandchildren and their spouses and her great-grandchildren she was Mama and Oma. To her
friends and colleagues, she was Pat. And to her beloved piano students, she was Mrs. Arand.

Patty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 27, 1933. Her dad, Boyd Hartzler, owned his own
paving company. His family background was Mennonite. Her mother, Inez, was an elementary school
teacher and homemaker. Her family background was Quaker. Boyd and Inez had three daughters,
Virginia, Ruth, and Patty, who was the baby. They lived in Sharonville, Ohio where they joined the
Sharonville Methodist Church. Patty was an excellent student and graduated from Sharonville High
School in 1951. She attended Baldwin-Wallace University Conservatory of Music, but when her father
died, she had to come home. When she was 12 years old, she met John Arand, also 12, at a municipal
swimming pool. They stayed in touch because their fathers were business associates, and eventually
they became sweethearts. She married John on January 3, 1953, and they had three children, Cindy,
Chris and Tony, in Reading, Ohio. She became the organist at the Sharonville church and made her
mother very proud.

Our mom and dad worked very hard, and they were a great team. Our dad went through 11 years of
night school to get his engineering degree and got his contractor’s license so he could build houses on

the side. Mom supported him in all of this while raising three children. We were treated to a few
summer vacations in Florida, and when Mom discovered Sanibel Island on the Gulf side, we all fell in
love with fishing, boating and the magic of marine life.

In 1967 a job offer sent our family to California, and we started a new life in Rancho Palos Verdes. Our
parents were very excited. They bought a lot in Mesa Palos Verdes and watched our new house being
built. It has a beautiful view of the city and Long Beach harbor. Dad added on a studio and mom began
teaching piano lessons.

Mom was excited to live in California. Gardening was completely different – no snow or frost here!
Bushes and flowers could bloom all year long. She loved it! The ocean was just over the hill, and her
children could enjoy marine life on a daily basis. She absolutely loved living here. She was involved in all
of our activities and watched us graduate from Rolling Hills High School, go to college, get married and
begin starting our own families.

Her piano business thrived and she opened the Patricia Arand Piano Studio. She was an active member
of the Music Teachers’ Association of California, and held a number of positions, including President,
and Committee Chair of the Composers Today program. In 2014 MTAC presented her with the Lifetime
Service Award, their highest award. She was also a current member of the California Association of
Professional Music Teachers and Mu Phi Epsilon Sorority. She loved teaching and was very, very proud
of her students and their accomplishments.

In 1999 our dad became very ill and was bedridden for one year. Mom was his caregiver, and it was a
full time job, but it was important to both of them that she continue teaching. They were married 47
years. After he passed away, she devoted her days to her students and their families. We all knew not
to call her before 8:30 in the evening, because she had her lessons. And her Saturdays were full as well.
So all family gatherings were on Sundays, but if there was a baseball game or a dance recital, she made
sure to be there for her “grandchildren.” She absolutely loved being a grandmother. She also loved
animals. She got a Sheltie puppy, named him Tim, and he was her beloved companion for 16 years.

Mom was an amazing seamstress. She made a good portion of Cindy’s clothes, including prom dresses.
She made nightgowns and pajamas for each of her grandchildren and matching ones for their dolls. She
made doll clothes by looking at a sample and then designed her own pattern. When we moved to
California our dad bought a boat – she reupholstered all of the cushions. She made pillows and chair
coverings and curtains for all of our homes, but she especially delighted in making baby blankets for the
precious little ones.

More than anything our mother loved her family. She made sure our holiday traditions included
boyfriends who became husbands and girlfriends who became wives. As more family members added,
she bought more tables and made sure her tablecloths were ironed and folded properly, her silver
polished and her stemware sparkling. It was important to her to continue these family dinners at her
home, and so we did, even last Christmas. She was very hard working and had a strong sense of duty.
In the last 23 years she maintained her home, her garden and her studio, continued to drive her car,
made all of her appointments and kept them. Next month she was planning a party for her students at
her studio. She had lessons scheduled in July and then vacation time with us in August.

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Mom was very sensitive about her age, so we are not going to tell you how old she was, because we
promised her never to mention it.

Love you, Mom

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