Patricia “Patty” Harrigan Mills

We celebrate the life of Patricia (Patty) Harrigan Mills, who roller-skated, biked, and unicycled up to Heaven on October 3, 2025 at the age of 60.

Following a 4.5 year journey with cancer, Patty passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family. Patty is survived by her husband (James), daughters (Allyson, Anna, and Cate), and sister (Kathy Harrigan Molnar). She was preceded in death by her mother (Lillian Harrigan) and father (Edward Harrigan).

Patty was born in Minneapolis in 1965 and spent most of her youth growing up in New Berlin, Wisconsin. Patty and her sister Kathy loved playing together, ice skating in the ditch, sledding at Whitnall Park, and tending their backyard flower and vegetable gardens. Patty attended high school at St. Mary’s Academy (class of 1983), and one of her fondest memories was traveling to Ireland through the 1982 Irish Way Program. Patty loved words and reading throughout her life, and her beloved teachers helped spark her love of Charles Dickens and Irish literature. She loved writing to her pen-pal in rural Minnesota. They wrote back and forth for more than 50 years! After high school, Patty took her writing ambitions to Marquette University, majoring in journalism. She loved her college experience, and graduated alongside her sister in 1987. Patty met her husband, James, on the first day of freshman orientation, served as an editor for the Marquette Tribune, and loved dancing with friends to 80’s music in Milwaukee’s downtown clubs.

Her strong writing ability and people skills led to her first job as an account executive at Cramer-Krasselt, leading her to connect with the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) as a client. ZSM leadership was so impressed that they asked Patty to come in-house as the ZSM’s Director of Marketing and Communications. She held that role for several years, establishing a flourishing corporate sponsorship program.

Patty and James welcomed their first daughter in 2001. To prioritize her growing family, Patty stepped into her new role at the ZSM as Sponsorship Manager. She worked for the ZSM for 32 years. In addition to their three daughters, Patty and James view their creation of Kohl’s Wild Theater to be one of their greatest collaborative achievements. Patty had a special place in her heart for prairie dogs, and even had a camel named after her by zoo staff! She benefited the lives of thousands of animals and visitors during her time at the Zoological Society, and was cherished by all who worked with her. Patty was grateful that many of her beloved friends and colleagues visited in her final weeks, stating “I’m so happy you’re all here”.

Patty loved animals and the outdoors, and enjoyed biking, hiking, and kayaking around Wisconsin’s parks with her family. Beyond prairie dogs and meerkats, she especially loved animals with long snouts: greyhounds, whippets, deer, and goats! Patty also loved cheering on her daughters at their soccer games. She was proud of her Irish heritage, and her family loved celebrating at Milwaukee Irish Fest every year. Patty was also a lifelong Catholic and long-time member of St. Sebastian parish. She loved supporting the Sebs Fish Fry and the farmer’s market breakfasts!

Patty shared her passion for cooking with her girls, and they enjoyed “whipping up” Sunday breakfasts, holiday meals, school treats, and dinners from Patty’s “green book” of favorite recipes. She was generous with her time in volunteering for her family’s school, church, and extracurricular activities, and viewed every moment as a “learning opportunity.” She loved playing Wordle, Scrabble, and just about every word game in the box with her family and friends.

Her health never stopped her from pursuing new adventures with her family. During Patty’s 4.5-year-long journey with cancer, she enjoyed adventures to Ireland, New Orleans, the Twin Cities, the New England states, North Carolina, and a trip to Pennsylvania to celebrate her 60th birthday at her sister Kathy’s lake house. Patty shared that some of her proudest moments during this time were watching all three of her daughters’ various graduation ceremonies and attending Cate and Allyson’s vocal performances.

We greatly appreciate Patty’s oncology and medical team at Froedtert for their dedication and care. We are also thankful for Horizon Home Hospice staff and all they did to bring comfort and joy in her final weeks.

We miss Patty so much and are grateful for her warm, loving presence in our lives. As she would say, “Forever onwards!” There are so many stories we would love to share. Please join us this weekend at St. Sebastian to celebrate Patty’s life.

Visitation from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM, with vigil service at 7:00 PM, on Saturday, October 11, 2025 at St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 5400 West Washington Blvd., Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

An additional visitation from 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM, with funeral mass at 2:30 PM, will take place the following day – Sunday, October 12, 2025 – also at the church.

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