.June 5, 1956 – May 11, 2012
Sometimes sorrow comes unexpectedly
In the midst of a valiant fight against cancer, Pleasanton psychotherapist Sage Lenhart Pattie passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 11, 2012 as a result of complications from the treatment in her battle with colon cancer.
Sage loved life to its fullest and embraced life with gusto even amidst the most difficult of times. Her joy, ready laugh, and deep empathy will be missed by all who crossed her path.
She was a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Pleasanton. She was widely known and appreciated for applying her practical therapy techniques along with discerning listening skills to help change lives. People often expressed appreciation for the gentle humor she brought to her work. She had planned to bring to her practice the unique skills developed in recent studies with Cathryn Clerc at Hippocrene Springs – integrating horses as partners in the therapeutic process.
Sage was born in Palo Alto and was a graduate of Palo Alto High School. During this time she was active in both Girl Scouts and Sea Scouts. Sage received her B.S. degree in Nutrition from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. After moving to Southern California, she completed her M.A. degree in Psychology from Fuller Graduate School of Psychology in Pasadena.
She began her career as a Nutrition Education Specialist and later served as a Public Health Nutritionist, working for such organizations as Los Ninos, Santa Barbara Family Care Center, Head Start, WIC, Santa Barbara Health Department, and guest lecturing at Santa Barbara City College.
Upon her move to Pasadena for graduate studies, she was invited to join the professional team of La Vie Counseling Center. There she served as a Nutrition Therapist and helped clients with eating disorders as well as other nutrition related problems.
During her graduate studies she began working with individuals, children, and families at the prestigious Glen Roberts Child Guidance Center in Glendale, California. She later founded Passages Family Therapy Center, a counseling outreach that offered psychotherapy to individuals and families.
Upon graduation she was appointed Program Director for the Wellness Community of Pasadena, a comprehensive psychosocial support treatment center for cancer patients and their families. She was responsible for the planning and implementation of a variety of community, educational, and social events serving a client base of over 200 people. She facilitated multiple weekly support groups for cancer patients and their families.
Sage is survived by her husband of 32 years, Steven Pattie of Pleasanton, and sons Nathan Norris Pattie of Honolulu and Lucas Ohio Pattie of Martinez; her mother, Gracella (Gee Gee) Anderson Lenhart of Palo Alto, as well as siblings Bill Lenhart of Riggins, Idaho, Laurie “Lou” Engelhardt of Boise, Idaho, and Russ Lenhart of Railroad Flat, California; and her parents-in-law Frank and Mary Jane Pattie of Gilroy, and sister-in-law Linda Pattie of Columbia, Missouri. Preceding her in death was her father James (Ted) Lenhart. She was blessed to have many friends, professional colleagues, aunts, uncles and cousins, all of whom will miss her deeply.
A celebration of her life is planned in her honor on Saturday, July 21, at 4:00 P.M., at the family farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains, ten miles west of Gilroy.
In lieu of flowers, friends and others who shared her vision and supported her mission in life will be invited to contribute to the Sage Pattie Foundation, which the family is planning to establish. For more information, write to stevenpattie@hotmail.com.