UFT Admin
- Retired teacher
Patricia “Pat” Martucci, a math teacher and chapter leader at PS 97 in Brooklyn’s Gravesend, was a tenacious, witty and generous unionist who relentlessly supported her colleagues. She died on Sept. 14, 2025, at the age of 81.
Pat, a single mother, completed college and attained her degrees later in life. She began her teaching career in 1991 as a per-diem teacher and became a full-time substitute teacher at PS 288 in Brooklyn later that year. In 1992, Pat became a full-time teacher at the Coney Island school, where she taught until she transferred to PS 97 in 1994. She served as chapter leader there from 2006 to 2011, when she retired.
“Pat was loved by the students, and she was loved by the faculty,” said retired teacher Nancy Sternberg, who worked alongside Pat for 11 years at PS 97. “She was a good friend and a wonderful representative. She was there at every meeting; she had her finger on the pulse. If there was any problem whatsoever, Pat would always be there.”
Former UFT District 21 Representative Judy Gerowitz knew Pat as a chapter leader who was “very friendly to her members,” a “go-getter” and “appreciated by all in the school.” When Pat was honored with a Chapter Leader of the Year Award at the annual District 21 scholarship dinner dance, “so many people from Pat’s school came to celebrate with her,” said Gerowitz.
“Pat loved teaching, and she loved her students, whether they were children in an elementary school or adult students at Kingsborough Community College,” where she taught as an adjunct professor, Gerowitz said.
Pat also was very involved in political advocacy as a union member and chapter leader. She attended UFT Lobby Day in Albany every year and was always present at the meetings Gerowitz organized with local politicians.
“She was 100 percent union,” recalled Sternberg.
Pat’s fellow District 21 chapter leaders remember her as a fun and supportive colleague.
Joann Savage, a retired teacher who served as chapter leader at PS 153 in Sheepshead Bay, would ride the subway to attend Delegate Assembly meetings with Pat. “She was a lovely person. A very sweet woman, very compassionate and very bright,” recalled Savage. They bonded over their shared love of animals, especially dogs. While Savage had two German shepherds, Pat had two mastiffs — huge dogs that she loved as though they were her children.
Pat also loved tennis and singing in her church choir. She was deeply rooted in her district, where she went to Del Rio Diner daily before it closed in 2016, and became friendly with Assembly Member William Colton, whose office is across Kings Highway from where the diner was located.
Pat is survived by her son and daughter-in-law.
Pat was also an active member of her church- Sts. Simon and Jude as a volunteer and member of the choir. She always had a quip or a funny story to share. May she rest in eternal peace.