Patricia Ann Burger Herfurth dies at 78; was volunteer, ex-teacher

Patricia Ann Burger Herfurth, a longtime educator in the Bay Shore schools, was known for inspiring her students and being active in her East Northport church, her family said.

Herfurth died March 19 of heart failure and other complications at Hospice House in East Northport. She was 78.

Born in Central Islip in 1939, Herfurth received her teaching degree from SUNY Oneonta and married Raymond “Ray” Herfurth in 1971 after the two met during a social hour at a bowling alley.

“We just started dating and kept dating and liked each other,” her husband said. “We had the same values and beliefs and it worked out very well in our relationship. I miss her.”

The couple moved to East Northport in the early 1970s where they raised two children.

She was an elementary school teacher for 36 years, spending most of the time as an educator at Mary G. Clarkson Elementary School in Bay Shore, teaching kindergarten, first and second grades.

Family members said she loved inspiring children and kept in touch with many former students. Herfurth was also an active member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional honor society for female educators.

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“There was a lot of positive influence that mom had on a younger generation,” said daughter Joy Herfurth of upstate Ellenburg Center. “Some of her students became teachers themselves and gave the credit to her.”

She was creative, loved to bake, throw parties and enjoyed traveling, especially camping. She had a special fondness for national parks and the ocean. The husband and wife made it to every state, save Alaska.

Patricia Herfurth also read often and was a rock of support in the family.

“Everybody around her felt they were loved and cared about and important,” Joy Herfurth said. “She was always pushing me, for me to be the best I could.”

That extended outside the home as well. Patricia Herfurth had a deep faith and was a longtime member of the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in East Northport, where she sang in the choir, taught Sunday school — becoming its superintendent for a time — and was a member of the Ladies Aid group. She also helped with charitable acts in the church community.

Besides her husband and daughter, she is survived by a son, JT Herfurth of Northport; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Herfurth’s wake was held in March. She was cremated.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 120 Vernon Valley Rd. in East Northport.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Bay Shore Retired Teachers Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 17, Brightwaters, NY 11718.