State Senator Patti Blevins, Who Rose From the Elsmere Town Council to Lead Delaware's Senate, Dies at 72

In 1983, a group of Elsmere residents banded together to stop the Chessie Railroad system from constructing a freight terminal on a 17-acre lot in a residential area of the town. Finding no help from the Elsmere government - the incumbent town council members were deaf to the residents' concerns, and had agreed to rezone the 17 acres of residential land for the Chessie project - five town members, led by Patti Blevins, ran for town council in the next election, determined to throw the incumbents out. They won. Chessie was stopped in its tracks, saving the community from a noisy, industrial behemoth being placed literally in the backyards of its residents.

Patti went on from the town council to become Mayor of Elsmere. In 1990, she was elected to the State Senate, where she served until 2017. Patti was President pro tempore of the Senate from 2013 until 2017. She was inducted into the Delaware Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.

Patti died on Oct. 7. She was 72.

Patricia Mary Blevins was born in Wilmington on Feb. 21, 1954. She grew up in suburban Wilmington, the daughter of John Walker, a research chemist at Hercules, and Betty (Baker) Walker, a homemaker. She graduated from Mount Pleasant High School and went on to Temple University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in three years, graduating in 1975. Patti is survived by her husband, Michael; her daughter Julia Lawes; her granddaughter Eloise; her siblings, Chuck Walker and his wife Raina Fishbane, and Andy Walker and his wife Amy Pilkington. Patti was preceded in death by her son John.

In every role she took on, Patti brought passion, humor, determination and hard work to serving her community. During her five terms in the State Senate, she held numerous leadership positions, working with residents, fellow legislators, state officials, and community advocates to make Delaware a better place. She was a fierce champion for women's health and safety, mental health services, animal welfare, clean water, and equal rights for all. She was a brilliant legislator who knew how to get things done on behalf of her constituents and all Delawareans.

Her pioneering work to protect women and children from violence helped change Delaware law and establish systems that continue to serve Delawareans today. In 1993, she helped create the Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and establish Delaware's Protection from Abuse statute, closing significant gaps in the state's response to domestic violence. Delaware had been the only state in the nation where victims could not petition the court for a protection-from-abuse order. She continued the work to extend protections and supports to survivors for the rest of her career.

A lifelong lover of animals, Patti was also committed to increasing protections for animals, spearheading the formation of the State Office of Animal Welfare. She led efforts to strengthen and consolidate the state's animal welfare system and modernize protection laws.

She was equally committed to ensuring that mental health was treated as health care. In 1998, Patti was the Senate sponsor of landmark legislation requiring insurance companies to provide coverage for biologically based mental illnesses under the same terms and conditions as coverage for physical illnesses. The National Alliance on Mental Illness recognized Patti for her leadership in bringing the legislation to passage.

Patti also became a powerful advocate for children, sponsoring legislation to prevent childhood lead poisoning, strengthen protections against child abuse, and improve Delaware's systems for protecting children in state care. She championed expanded health and dental coverage for children and increased school nurse coverage through her leadership with the Delaware Legislative Kids.

Patti's commitment to her community extended to the environment and the quality of life of her neighbors. She secured state investments to address erosion, flooding, and improve road safety in the areas that she served, and advocated for eliminating sewer overflows into streams and neighborhoods, including in underserved communities in Wilmington. She also helped secure funding for the purchase of Brandywine Springs Elementary School and thousands of acres of open space.

Patti also spent nearly a decade as Executive Director of the Delaware Helpline, strengthening a service that connected Delawareans with information and referrals for food assistance, housing, health care, mental health services and other community resources. Her work helped lay the groundwork for the service that ultimately became Delaware 211.

Patti loved her yearly trips to the beach with her family, watching baseball (go Phillies!), reading a good book, gathering with friends over a good meal, and, most of all, spending time with her granddaughter, Eloise. She had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to laugh.

Family and friends will be gathering to remember Patti at the Krienen-Griffith Funeral Home, 1400 Kirkwood Highway, on Friday evening, October 16th from 6-8 pm. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Elsmere Fire Company, the Faithful Friends Animal Society, the Brandywine Valley SPCA, or the Democrat of your choice in any competitive race for the House, Senate, or Statehouse this November.