Patricia Jean (Manning) Havlik

Patricia Jean Manning Havlik passed away on January 27th, 2023 at the age of 84. Her beautiful smile and unmistakable laugh brought us all such joy. Our mom exuded warmth, strength and unwavering love for her children, Lisa (Paul) Dettmann-Webb and Andi (Chris) White and grandchildren: Christopher Dettmann, Daniel Dettmann, Michael Dettmann, and Genevieve White. She taught us all to value education, to take advantage of new experiences, to persevere, and to always choose kindness. Her greatest joy was our successes, and her deepest pain was our defeats. She possessed a boundless love for her family and extended family. It is what we will miss the most. 

Patricia was born in April of 1938 and resided in Wauwatosa. She was a precocious child who spent her early years riding her imaginary horse and voraciously reading The Boxcar Children. She attended McKinley Elementary school and later was a member of her church choir until her expulsion, largely due to incessant giggling with her friends during rehearsals. After her graduation from Wauwatosa High in 1956, Patricia briefly attended UW-Milwaukee, but soon put her college education on hold due to the death of her mother. Patricia was a tremendous help to her father and younger brothers, Jimmy and Tommy. She also cared for her grandmother and started her first full time employment with the Wisconsin Gas Company. It was here she befriended Sharon who became her dearest, life-long friend of over 65 years. In 1961, Patricia moved to Austin, Texas to follow her first love, Curtis Dettmann. They were married in 1962 and returned to Wisconsin where they resided in Cedarburg. Curtis passed away in 1965, three weeks before the birth of their daughter, Lisa. Patricia, now a widowed, single mother, moved to a small flat in Wauwatosa, and returned to UW-Milwaukee to earn her teaching degree in elementary education. Despite loss and hardship, Patricia never faltered in motherhood. She started her teaching profession at Eisenhower Elementary where she taught sixth grade. In 1972, Patricia married William Havlik, her loving husband of 50 years. The small family moved to Oconomowoc where daughter Andrea was born, and in 1976 they bought property and built a home at Lauderdale Lakes, north of Elkhorn. Here Patricia would live for the next 46 years. She had left the teaching profession, but never stopped teaching or pursuing her love of learning. She started a book club, long before they became a thing, of which she was the matriarch for over 40 years, and she was one of the founding members of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Elkhorn. She fully embraced homemaking; she gardened, canned and froze her homegrown fruits and vegetables, sewed her family’s clothing, learned pottery, painting, embroidery, and knitting very large hats (but she was sure she followed the instructions!) She ground her own wheat berries and baked bread, which was the only thing granddaughter Genevieve would eat for several years. It was truly the best bread ever. She loved to bake, decorate, and she made every holiday magical. She worked tirelessly to create a home that was comfortable, well maintained, and full of love. In her children and grandchildren, she instilled her love of reading, learning, and strong sense of social justice. She took us to work in soup kitchens, to deliver Christmas meals and gifts for families in need, she delivered Meals-on-Wheels, and she always spoke out against wrongful treatment of others. We all attended several protests against unjust wars and unjust treatment, even if it meant pushing baby Christopher in the stroller through piles of snow and driving wind. She cherished her time with her children and grandchildren: Christopher, Danny, Mikey, and Genevieve. She read to them, played games, did puzzles, created crafts out of bits of nature they collected on their walks, taught them to sail, swim, ride bikes, and bake. Time with Mimi was never idle, as she reminded us often, “you know me, Go! Go! Go!” And, she lived by those words. She loved her tennis group, an activity she continued to do well into her 70s, the LLCC Ladies League, and her Zumba/Pound classes. Through these activities she made so many friendships, all of which she greatly cared for. In fact, our mom never failed to draw people to her. Dad said it was because of her “come on smile.” Strangers would invariably smile when crossing paths with her, and she never failed to strike up conversations with people, even if it meant holding a long conversation about books with a group of women in the restroom at Lambeau Field during a Packer game. While dad was a man of few words, mom loved the social scene. They both enjoyed the many social events with friends on the lake, their opportunities to travel with friends and family, and time in Florida in the winters. She loved the water and cared deeply for the environment. She knew how to find joy in life’s small miracles, like a brilliant sunset, the call of a loon, or the brilliance of fall colors. She knew how to really love, and in the end that is all that matters. 

Patricia was preceded in death by her husband William, her parents, Thomas and Genevieve Manning, Ruth Manning, her brothers Tomas Manning and Scott Manning. She is survived by her daughters: Lisa and Andi, sons-in-law: Paul and Chris, grandchildren: Christopher, Danny, Mikey, and Genevieve, brothers James Manning and Curt (Ellen) Manning, dearest friend, Sharon Zivko, several nieces and nephews, and many dear friends who greatly enriched her life. A private service will be held for Patricia and William in May. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the causes Patricia cared about most would be meaningful: 

Lakeland Animal Shelter https://lakelandanimalshelter.org/ 

The Elkhorn Fund https://csuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1168 

Elkhorn High School Fine Arts Boosters: P.O. Box 634, Elkhorn, WI 53121