June 10, 1967 – October 26th, 2024
Patrisha K. Nielson passed away on October 26th, 2024, at her home in West Valley City, Utah. She was born June 10, 1967 to Jimmy “Mac” and Ilene Joan Llewelyn Tidwell. The oldest sister, the last to go. At the time of death she was a young 57 years old.
Much loved mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, aunt. Trish had a smile that made you feel like you were the most important person in the room. Her laugh would make you laugh and you did not even need to know why you were laughing. Her sarcasm was award winning!
She mastered the art of cornering a bed and cleaning a floor; her attention to details and impeccable housekeeping made her home inviting to all. And that she did, invite! If you were fortunate enough to be in her home you felt like you could stay forever. Her door was unlocked, her heart open and welcoming!
Trish looked for the underdog in all. She was fierce in standing up for others. It was best to stay on her good side! She had been a fighter since early in her childhood, watching out for her brother and sister honing her skill to look out for those who could not look out for themselves.
In childhood, Patrisha was the oldest of three, her brother, Jody Mac, born to be her best buddy. They welcomed little Jennifer Lee a few years later. A clan of three navigate life together. Trish had many friends who shared stories of laughter and antics that would split your sides. They ran the neighborhood and made memories to be kept until we meet again.
Trish went to Pioneer Elementary, Valley View Middle School, and Granger High School. She told of times her mother marched into the school to stand up for her or her brother and sister. One time in Elementary School, Trish walked out of class and went straight home to tell on her teacher. The teacher did not believe that Trish had written a report, something she had in fact done on her own! She came back with her mother in tow and they both set the teacher straight. Trish never backed down from standing up for what she believed, or for those who could not stand up for themselves. Trish was indeed a remarkable writer, and she left many journals behind with her thoughts, expressions, and memories.
What can be said about Patrisha and motherhood, except that she was loving. She inspired both of her sisters to want to be moms. She loved her children and her nieces and nephews exceptionally! She loves her boys and they were the proudest moments of her life. She would always have something to say about them anytime you talked with her, and that something was usually an exclamation of how much she LOVES her boys!
Trish was proud of being a marine mom. Zack; she loved Zack’s sense of humor and his strength. She boasted about Adam and his plumbing business, his intelligence and his whit. She loved to show off Mat’s artwork and shared a bond with him over writing; his talents limitless. She appreciated Erik for his nature that was so similar to hers, a sensitivity of caring that will carry on in him. And Nick, losing him was the hardest pain she ever bore; she missed him with every breath she took for the rest of her life. She spoke the same of her nieces and nephews, and especially Jen’s grandbabies; she loved them like they were her own. She just had a contagious love for her family.
She was a host and a hockey mom to many players when her boys were growing up. She took in high school students who played on the competition hockey teams with her sons. Hockey was her sport, and if she wasn’t talking about her boys, she was talking about hockey.
Trish loved her cat Oliver, he was a companion to her and the funniest cat you ever met. She had the greenest thumb, and she loved gardening! Her tomatoes this summer could have won awards at the State Fair! She did not even like tomatoes, but she grew them for all of us who do! Trish threw the best parties and she always made sure the family got together.
Everyone loses their way sometimes in life, Trish fought her way back. She was incredibly honest and intentional in how she made her way back into the hearts of those she loved most, and those who loved her most. We will always be grateful for the time and moments and memories we made with her, but we will equally feel the loss of her in our time and moments and memories to be made. Where she is not present in our physical life, she will be present in our thoughts and dreams. Come walk with us sister, mom, best friend and wife, aunt, cousin, nephews and nieces, our friend. Words cannot express how much she will be missed.
Trish would want us to remember to never be afraid of making a choice. Never be afraid of standing up for what you believe in. Never be afraid to care for those who love you most, and those who you most love.
A Celebration of Life will be held in honor of Trish, our mom, sister, aunt, and best friend, Saturday, November 16th, @ 11:00 AM. Friends and family may gather to visit and celebrate Patrisha at the Highbury Ward, 3372 South Merry Lane [5275 West], West Valley City, Utah 84120. Bring a stuffed frog or butterfly to donate to the Christmas Box House in Trish’s name.
Patrisha is survived by her best friend and husband, Keith, [sons] Adam, Mathew, Zackary, and Erik [Devon], and a myriad of hockey sons who called her “mom”; her bonus sister, Stacie Lawrence (Brian), nephews and nieces, cousins and friends, aunts and uncles, and Ollie Ollie Oliver, her cat. Preceded in death by (mother) Ilene Joan Llewellyn Tidwell and (father) Jimmy “Mac” Tidwell, (brother) Jody Mac Tidwell, (sister) Jennifer Lee Tidwell Kummer, and (beloved son) Nickolas Nielson, and Grandparents.
Nick, take care of mom. 
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