LEBANON, NH — Patrice Jeanne Ade Vidal was born on April 8, 1954 and passed away December 11, 2018.

Patrice was the oldest child of a close, fun, loving family of three children and two parents. She was born in Chicago, Il and died in Lebanon, New Hampshire. In between she also lived in Evanston, IL, Wilmette, IL, New Canaan, CT, and Hanover, NH. She fought a brave battle for eleven years with Stage IV breast cancer. Surviving family members are Patrice’s 88-year-old mother Marguerite, 92-year-old father Ron, sister Sue Potenza, brother John Ade, son Christopher Vidal and grandson Alex Hildreth.

She attended two high schools – New Trier in Winnetka, IL and New Canaan High school in New Canaan, CT. While in high school she excelled at academics, playing the violin and had an amazing singing voice. At Mt. Holyoke College she graduated with a degree in foreign language, focusing on French. During her college time, she spent a semester abroad in Paris, France. When she returned, we all went Ooh-La-La as she was very “Parisian” in her haircut and clothing. Her first job out of college was in international banking in Connecticut. Then she married Richard Vidal and helped out with the office details of the family business of building and remodeling homes. She was married for 23 years. For the past 20+ years Patrice worked in the Career Counseling Department at Dartmouth College.

Her passion for horses began when she and Sue took riding lessons at ages 10 and 8 in Illinois. It continued with Mounted Troop in New Canaan and the Equestrian Team at Mt. Holyoke College. After college, she continued to ride almost up to the time of her death. Horses were as important to her as the air she breathed. She always regretted not becoming a veterinarian. Golden Retrievers and cats followed a close second to horses.

Away from the barn, Patrice loved to cook and was quite good! She was a steady, loyal friend to many and a passionate reader. Patrice was well-traveled to numerous foreign countries. She liked to be outdoors to bird watch, garden, walk, ride bikes or hang on the beach. Many a summer’s day was spent at the beach or sailing on Lake Michigan or Long Island Sound. As an active Girl Scout, she went on a two-week adventure on the schooner Shenandoah which is berthed on Martha’s Vineyard. The high-school-age girls crewed this schooner that was “authentic” with no power source other than the wind.

There will not be a formal funeral or memorial service. However, in 2019 there will be a Celebration of Life gathering and ashes scattering in the Vermont/New Hampshire area in April.