Patricia Ryan Zolper

Local artist and long-time Wilmington resident Patricia Ryan Zolper, 90, died Monday, March 30, at the Country House retirement community in Greenville.

Pat’s passions included her family, art, early childhood development, her Catholic faith, reading and crossword puzzles. She was part of a generation of women who pioneered balancing career and family. Her achievements included raising five sons, serving in management positions in a pre-school and a hospital, and heading up multiple non-profit efforts through the years. She was a landscape painter who exhibited in Delaware and Maine and an ardent supporter of the arts. However, Pat always considered her greatest joy and accomplishment was raising her children.

She also was beloved and admired by a wide circle of people, from the staff where she kenneled her dog, to a young artist she mentored, to her 15 grandchildren and four great- grandchildren. She was smart, strong, and social. She once knocked on the door of a stranger in the city, a widow, to introduce herself; Pat had read about the woman and thought they could be good friends.

Born in Wilmington in 1929, Pat was the only child of Dupont executive Thomas Ryan and his wife, Alberta Ryan. Pat attended Ursuline Academy and Wilmington Friends School. She received her degree from Vassar College in 1951 with a major in early childhood development. She started the Childhood Development Club at Vassar, which continues to this day. After graduation, she began working in the public relations department at Dupont and met William Benjamin Zolper of Wilmington, who graduated from the University of Delaware after his WWII naval service. They married in 1953 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church and started their family before her husband was transferred by Dupont to northern New Jersey.

While managing a large family and household in Glen Rock, N.J., Pat received her master’s degree in learning disabilities from William Paterson College of New Jersey in 1978, and also earned a certificate to teach art K-12. Once her children were in school, she rejoined the workforce as the director of Friends Preschool in Ridgewood, N.J., and then as Director of Volunteer Services at Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton, N.J. She also served in numerous volunteer positions, including Board President of Family Counseling of Ridgewood, and Director of Art Division for the Junior League of Bergen County. Pat also started an extracurricular arts program in the Glen Rock school system.

After she and Ben retired, they moved back to Wilmington in 1989. She became a docent at the Delaware Arts Museum and also joined and began painting with the Studio Group, which owns and maintains the Howard Pyle Studio on Franklin Street. She continued these activities nearly all her life.

Pat moved from her apartment on Riddle Avenue to Country House after Ben died in 2014. She served on the Residents Council and was an active leader of the book club. She particularly loved the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Throughout their marriage, Pat and Ben vacationed with their boys in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where they ultimately built a summer house in the Appalachee Village Association which they enjoyed for over 25 years. Both that home and a second, “Pondside,” along with sailing in PatZ II and other Maine adventures have become the source of many happy memories for three generations of Zolpers. Pat also was active in the local arts community.

Pat’s life also was filled with dogs, her most recent a little fluffy white Maltese ironically named Zeus. His exuberant spirit brought her joy and comfort.

Pat is survived by her five sons: Ben (Sharon, three children, four grandchildren), of Beverly, MA, Tom (one child and partner Alexandra) of Baltimore, MD, Peter (Johanna, three children), of Fairfax Station, VA; John (Betsy, three children) of Vienna, VA; and Andy (Linda, five children) of St. Petersburg, FL. John Abramo, Pat’s companion of four years at Country House, helped care for Pat when she became critically ill. John will miss her dearly, as will her whole family.

When the state’s stay-at-home order has been lifted, Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Anne’s in honor of Pat’s life. For those inclined, the family suggests donations in lieu of flowers can be made at any time to the Ministry of Caring, 115 E. 14th St., Wilmington, DE 19801.