Obituary: Patti Ingli Rea, 1933-2010
Patti Ingli was born in River Falls, Wisconsin. In 1940, her father, Clark Ingli, was called up with the local National Guard. Patti and her mother, Isabelle Ingli, then followed Mr. Ingli from assignment to assignment during the war.
Ingli served with the Red Arrow Division and spent two and a half years in the South Pacific during WWII. From the time Patti was seven until she was 13, she was in 17 different schools.
Patti graduated from UCLA and married Ralph Rea the week after graduation. After marriage, Patti and Ralph lived in California. They also had stints in Arlington, Virginia, Tokyo, Japan and Sydney Australia. For the past eight years, they’ve called Mammoth home.
Patti passed away the morning of Oct. 20 after the loss of her battle with internal injuries from an automobile accident.
She is survived by her husband Ralph Rea, her four children; Chip Rea, Roger Rea (Jean), Kathe Rea Lampert (Dave), and Carolyn Rea Mitchell (Jim) and her nine grandchildren; Christopher Rea, Jessica Rea, Will Rea, Rosalynd Rea, Michelle Lampert, Tim Lampert, Jeff Lampert, Kimberly Mitchell and Charlie Mitchell. Patti’s immediate and extended family was the most important aspect of her life.
Patti taught elementary school for 22 years in the Los Angeles area. For the past 13 years — five years in Los Angeles and eight years in Mono County — she has been a mentor for teachers in their first two years of teaching in California. While teaching in Westlake Village, she received the Conejo Valley “Teacher of the Year” award in 1997.
Patti has been a Mammoth Mountain Lodge Host since the 1996. She was “Lodge Host of the Year” for the 2004/2005 ski season. In 2007 she received a Mammoth Mountain Black Diamond award.
Patti was a board member for Chamber Music Unbound and an ardent supporter of their music program. As a docent for the Valentine Reserve and the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL), she continued to work to educate children. She was an active member of a Kappa Delta Alumni Group and in 2007 she received the “Order of the White Rose” national award for her many hours of volunteer activity. She was also a member of the PEO Women’s Organization for many years in Southern California and was active in the Bishop group. She was a member of the AAUW Women’s Organization in Southern California. Patti had a very strong faith and church was very important to her. In Mammoth, she was an active participant with Grace Community Church. She and Ralph are long-time members of Woodland Hills Community Church, (WHCC). Outside of family, Patti’s greatest passion was children.
She was an amazing teacher both in and out of the classroom. She loved to ski and was very active outdoors. She talked to just about everyone and always had a smile on her face. Patti Ingli Rea will be missed by the many people she touched.
A Celebration of Life is planned for Patti on Friday, Nov. 7, at 1 p.m. in the Mammoth Mountain Conference Center and another in down South on Friday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at Woodland Hills Community Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Patti’s honor to Chamber Music Unbound (CMU), a 501(c)3 non-profit, P. O. Box 1219, Mammoth Lakes, CA 93546-1219.
