Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the Friends of Lasdon Park dedicated Gorski Pond in honor of Patricia Fitzgerald Gorski on Friday, August 25, at Lasdon Park and Arboretum in Katonah.
Patricia “Pat” Gorski had a lengthy and devoted career in public service with the Westchester County Board of Legislators. She began in 1977 as secretary to the Clerk. In 1992, she was unanimously elected to the position of Clerk and Chief of Staff of the Board of Legislators, a position she held for six terms until her retirement in 2002.
Gorski began her career in Westchester government in 1971 as a summer intern in the Department of Public Works. She moved on to the office of County Executive Edward Michaelian, and then became the secretary to the Commissioner of Social Services and the secretary to the Commissioner of Finance.
In addition to being a devoted public servant, Pat was the loving wife of Walter Gorski, to whom she was married for almost 50 years. After retiring, the Gorskis strolled the paths at Lasdon Park several times a week. Their walks started on the woodland trails and extended across the fields, and always ended with them relaxing on the bench at the pond. Walter says it was Pat’s “happy place,” where she found peace and serenity.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said: “I had the privilege of working with Pat at the Board of Legislators; she was a true friend. She was dedicated, fair, kind and hardworking, as she was at all of her positions with the County. It is our pleasure to honor and memorialize Pat for all time at Lasdon Park.”
Westchester County Parks Commissioner Kathleen O’Connor said: “Pat adored every job she had during her long career in public service for the County. Her love of Lasdon Park and her ‘happy place’ there made naming the pond after Pat an easy and appropriate choice.”
Board of Legislators Chairman Vedat Gashi said: “The halls of the Board of Legislators are full of memories of Patricia’s selfless spirit and her dedication to serving the people of Westchester County. She believed that every task, great or small, is an act of service, and that every person, regardless of title, is worthy of equal respect. She loved Lasdon Park, and now her legacy will forever be memorialized there through this dedication.”
Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans Memorial is a Westchester County Park on Route 35 in Somers. The GPS address is 2610 Amawalk Road, Katonah, NY 10536.