Violet "Pat" Mojer

Just short of turning 90, Violet “Pat” Mojer, succumbed to respiratory distress and complications on Saturday, November 9, 2019. She had been under hospice care for the final week of her life and passed quietly with family at her side. 

 Of Scottish descent, Violet Ethel Crombie survived World War II in England before making her way to Bermuda with family in her early 20s, where she met and married Mike Mojer in 1953. Over the course of their nearly 66 years together, she raised three daughters in the vagabond life of Air Force brats and demonstrated a remarkable capacity for flexibility and organization in her life and household. She faced every challenge with grace and grit, creating a happy and stable home environment with every re-assignment. 

 Supporting Mike’s Air Force career, she returned with him to live abroad for two separate overseas tours in Germany, where the entire family learned European culture and traveled the continent. In the U.S. Violet established homes in New Jersey and Texas before the family settled into a final rotation in Florida. As a young mother, she was an enthusiastic teacher to her children, as well as an energetic homemaker and gracious hostess.

 Violet was a creative spirit, with an exhaustive talent for knitting and sewing. Like so many of her generation, she was mindful of limited resources and frugal in her use of them. Her problem-solving skills were rooted in that mindset, and she designed and made exquisite clothing for her daughters, from layette to graduation. Her knitting projects were complex and ambitious, from socks and booties to afghans and bedding. Each of her creations was unique, impeccable and crafted to live on for generations. 

 Outside the home, Violet disliked her given name and preferred to be known as Pat, both to friends and associates during a later career in retail sales. She was highly regarded for her quality work and attention to detail as a department manager in Ivey’s Housewares, where she earned consistent praise and appreciation from her managers, customers and clients over many years. 

 An unshakable devotion to friends and family remained a driving force throughout her life, and she always considered the needs of others ahead of her own. She was sensitive, charitable and kind, with a selfless ability to empathize without judgement. She enjoyed a quick-witted good humor, and never hesitated to share a twinkle of her eye to help lighten a mood or drive home a pointed punchline. Her heart was strong and full, even as her mind began to muddle and betray itself in her decline. 

 In her final years, Violet lost much of her vision to macular degeneration and suffered the many pains and complications of advancing age with all the dignity she could muster. She was heroic in facing her fears to the last, and she will always be cherished for the strength she displayed – and shared – among those closest to her as she passed away peacefully in hospice. 

 Violet is survived by her husband Mike and daughters, Linda and Rhea, along with five grandchildren (Jason, Roxann, Tricia, Dana, Jessica) and six great-grandchildren (Sarah, Able, Aaliyah, Aiden, Caroline, Jade). She joins her beloved daughter Carole (2003) and sister Christine (2013), leaving behind an extended family of relatives and loved ones throughout Central Florida and England.