From the Marin Inependent Journal Obituaries:
Patricia Kendall, a longtime leader in health care and emergency services in Marin County, has died at age 77.
Ms. Kendall died at her home in San Rafael on Aug. 7 following a seven-year battle with cancer.
Ms. Kendall retired in 2023 after a 50-year career with Kaiser Permanente. She started her career as an emergency room nurse in 1973 and became the first medical group administrator for Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center, a position she held for 31 years.
“Pat was the face of Kaiser Permanente in the community,” Dr. Naveen Kumar, physician-in-chief at Kaiser, said in a community note. “Her deeply held principles of value and respect are part of the DNA of our San Rafael medical center.”
Kumar said Ms. Kendall was known for saying, “Seeking health care is one of the most intimate things we do in life.”
“Pat’s lasting gift is the sense of purpose she instilled in us and the people-centered culture she fostered,” he said.
Ms. Kendall’s administrative successor, Armika Berkley, said, “Pat was a true giant — whose vision, leadership and compassion shaped not just our organization, but the lives of everyone who worked alongside her.”
“Her legacy is woven into the very fabric of what we do,” Berkley said. “The impact she had — on both our team and the people we serve— will be felt for generations. We mourn her loss deeply, and we honor her by continuing the mission she cared so passionately about.”
Born on April 7, 1948, in San Francisco, Ms. Kendall was the daughter of Carl and Geneva Saxsenmeier. Ms. Kendall attended St. Joseph’s College of Nursing and worked as an emergency room nurse in Hawaii. Then she returned to the Bay Area with her former husband and joined Kaiser in San Rafael, according to friends.
Ms. Kendall was a major supporter of Marin’s first responders and emergency medical services, said Steve Takemoto, one of the first six paramedics hired to join the San Rafael Fire Department when it launched its paramedic program in 1980. Ms. Kendall helped coordinate the new program and train its participants, Takemoto said.
“Pat was a great friend of mine,” said Takemoto, a San Rafael firefighter-paramedic for 33 years. “She was an amazing woman. She did so much for so many people.”
Ms. Kendall was on the board of the San Rafael Fire Foundation and served for 25 years on the county’s emergency medical care committee. As a committee member, she was involved in establishing the Marin County trauma program in 1997, Takemoto said.
Ms. Kendall was named San Rafael’s “citizen of the year” in 2013, and was inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame in 2020. She was a founding member and chair of the Healthy Marin Partnership, a coalition of Marin County health, education and philanthropic organizations.
She also served with the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce, the Marin Economic Forum and the North Bay Leadership Council, where she was the first woman chair.
“I worked with Pat during the entire time that I was the county school superintendent, 28 years,” said Mary Jane Burke, who retired in 2023. “Her focus was on doing good for others, whether it was through her work at Kaiser, supporting our schools or our community.”
“In general, she was one of a kind,” Burke said. “We can honor her by trying to be more like her as we work on behalf of the entire community.”
Ms. Kendall is survived by her brother Bill Saxsenmeier, two nieces and two nephews.
A celebration of Ms. Kendall’s life is scheduled for 11 a.m. Aug. 22 at Peacock Gap Golf Club in San Rafael.
Sources:
https://www.marinij.com/obituaries/all-obituaries/
https://www.marinij.com/2025/08/08/patricia-kendall-prominent-marin-health-care-leader-dies/
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