Patricia Ruth Reese

Memorial visitation will be held on Monday from 2:00 to 3:00 PM.

Patricia Ruth Reese was born August 10, 1954. She was the first of three children born to Everett and Ruth Reese. She was raised in Westbury, L.I., where she graduated from high school in 1972. After a brief hiatus, she continued her education at Sullivan County Community College, where she received an Associates in Arts degree in 1978.  From an early age, she developed a life-long interest in arts and music which she pursued along with her studies and career.

After graduating from Sullivan County Community College, Patricia went on to study sociology at SUNY New Paltz. During college she became known to friends as Djenába or DJ and she worked in retail sales and in food service. She went on to hold jobs as a baker, an artist's model, and a caterer. In 1988, she co-founded the Thelemic Arts Center in Saugerties, New York, where she was director and gallery curator. In the 1990s, she became director of the Sharon Springs Health Spa. That work spurred her interest in health and fitness and she became certified as a fitness instructor and personal trainer, a career she followed for decades. Under the name DJ Reese, Patricia wrote a weekly fitness column for the Poughkeepsie Journal for over 15 years.

Adjunct to her interests in fitness, she also became a certified practitioner of kinesiology, a yoga instructor, a practitioner of Breema massage, a certified hypnotist, and a licensed trainer of Neuro-linguistic Programming. She earned many other certifications in fitness and wellness and was a presenter at numerous conferences, festivals, and events.

Patricia was a talented musician, poet, and visual artist. She wrote haikus and played drums almost every day of her life. She also loved to travel and visited many places throughout the USA, Europe, and England.

She is survived by a sister, Karen, a brother, Everett, and her domestic partner of 37 years, Philip Farber.