In memoriam: Pat Plumtree, 73
January 19, 2015

Patricia “Pat” Volland Plumtree, a 12-year member of the USC Chan Division’s Board of Councilors, died Jan. 10, 2015, as a result of head injuries sustained from a fall. She was 73.

Pat was born March 2, 1939, in Los Angeles to Norman and Bernadette Browne Volland. In 1946, her family moved to Nebraska where she attended St. Cecilia grade and high school, graduating in 1957.

After briefly attending Rosary College in River Forest, Ill. and spending a summer working in New York City’s Garment District, Pat transferred to Denver University.

She entered the workforce as a merchandise buyer for Livingston Brothers in San Francisco, where she met her future husband, Jim Plumtree.

Soon thereafter, Pat began working for the J.C. Penney Company. In 1973, the Plumtrees relocated to Southern California where Jim earned his master’s degree in occupational therapy at USC in 1978. Upon his graduation, the Plumtrees moved to Boise, Idaho.

When her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1982, Pat became increasingly involved in work for Alzheimer’s disease. In 1984, she founded the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Association, a non-profit support group for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias as well as their families.

Pat’s service work earned her numerous accolades, including the J.C. Penney Community Service Award, the Idaho Citizen of the Year Award, and the U.S. President’s Volunteer Action Award.

In 1988, she retired from retail merchandising to work full-time for the Alzheimer’s Association at the organization’s national level. In 2002, USC President Steven Sample appointed Jim and Pat to the Board of Councilors of the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.

In 2003, after more than 14 years of service with the Alzheimer’s Association, Pat retired from full-time work. A year later, the Plumtrees returned to Boise to begin retired life together, which included travel, opera, Shakespeare and volunteer work.

Pat was preceded in death by her husband, Jim, and is survived by her sister, Pamela Marie Volland R.G.S., a Sister of the Good Shepherd currently ministering in Beijing; sister-in-law, Kathleen Plumtree Henderson; niece, Renee Hugo; and nephew, Craig Henderson.

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