Patricia June Bennett Germain

Patricia June Bennett Germain Born February 2, 1928 Died June 11, 2021 Patricia Germain died of natural causes on June 11, 2021. She was under hospice care at Kindred Hearts Assisted Living in Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. Patricia was the youngest of four children. Her parents were Ruth Sayre Bennett and Leslie Bennett. Her father was a farmer who rehabilitated farms in and around Milton, Wisconsin. Her family was very musical. Her father had an Irish tenor voice and her mother played and taught piano. All the children played at least one instrument and also sang. The cello was chosen as Patricia’s instrument because it was needed to fill out the family ensemble which performed in their Baptist church and other places. At age fourteen Patricia came to Madison to attend the UW Academy which was a college preparatory school sponsored by the university. She worked as a live-in maid as she went to school and continued cello studies with the original cellist of the prestigious Pro Arte Quartet, Erik Friedlander. As a college student she met her ex-husband Cliff Germain and they were married when she was nineteen. They divorced about twenty years later. Patricia was a passionate and accomplished musician. Music was a key part of her life. It gave her great joy and fed her mind and soul. In her early wedded life she taught general music. Later she played in the Waukesha Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony, the Florida Gulf Coast Symphony and the Madison Symphony. She was an active free-lance musician in the Milwaukee area, Tampa Florida, Minneapolis and Madison. Later in life Patricia became a voracious reader who was most interested in history, mythology and philosophy. She could read and write in French, and enjoyed writing poetry in both languages. She taught herself how to sew in early married life, opting for a Singer instead of an engagement ring, which she used the rest of her life. She is survived by her son Alan Germain (Julie Waldman) of Oakland, CA, her son Glenn Germain (Maria-Rosa Germain) of Monona, WI, and her grandchildren Carl Germain of Seattle, WA, Nora Germain of Los Angeles, CA and many nieces and nephews, extended family, and friends. Patricia received excellent care from the caregivers at Kindred Hearts and from the Agrace nurses, for which her family is extremely grateful. She will be interred at the Milton City cemetery. There is no funeral or memorial ceremony planned at this time.