Patti Sue (Otto) Almekinder, 76, of Raleigh, North Carolina, went to be with her Lord and Savior on October 14, 2026, one month after the passing of her beloved husband of 55 years, Edward (Ed) Francis Almekinder. She passed away peacefully of natural causes at home.

Patti was born on May 3, 1950, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1957, her family moved to Berlin, Wisconsin, where she attended St. John’s Lutheran School through eighth grade. She graduated from Berlin High School in 1968 and thoroughly enjoyed her four years as a cheerleader. That enthusiasm carried on after graduation, when she became a Green Bay Packers cheerleader in the fall of 1969.

After high school, Patti worked for Aid Association for Lutherans in Appleton, Wisconsin, before moving to Madison, where she worked at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and later for Skelly Oil Company.

In July 1970, Patti met Ed while he was attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They married just six months later, on January 30, 1971, in Berlin, beginning a partnership that would span more than five decades, several moves, and a lifetime of shared memories.

Immediately after their wedding, Patti and Ed moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where Ed taught at White Bear Lake Central and Patti transferred to Skelly Oil’s regional office. While working, she took evening classes at the University of Minnesota and earned an associate degree in interior design.

In 1972, Patti and Ed moved to the Forest Lake area, and in 1976 they built their dream home on Forest Lake. After earning her degree, Patti worked for Kolbow’s Interiors in Forest Lake until their first child, Jennifer, was born, and then for the Kari Clinic until the birth of their second child, Tara. The lake home became an enduring part of the family’s story, a place where their hard work and dreams came together and where they enjoyed the lake life they so loved. Their years together included fishing and boating, trips to Canada, cabin vacations in Maine, and family visits to Hilton Head.

Seeking warmer weather, the family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1982, and Raleigh remained Patti and Ed’s home for the rest of their lives. In 1985, she began her career with the North Carolina Utilities Commission, serving as an executive assistant in the Commissioner’s Office for 25 years before retiring from state government.

Together, Patti and Ed built a life centered on family and grounded in faith. Their shared legacy lives on in their daughters and grandchildren, and in the memories of the homes, holidays, vacations, and everyday moments they shared. Patti’s own story, as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, godmother, sister, and working professional, is woven throughout the life she and Ed created together.

Patti is survived by her daughters, Jennifer Almekinder and Tara (Almekinder) Vogelien; her son-in-law, Matthew Vogelien; her beautiful grandchildren, Samantha and Franklin Vogelien; and her godson and nephew, Timmy Dombek. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Stephen Dombek; and her beloved husband of 55 years, Edward Francis Almekinder, who passed away on September 14, 2026.

After 55 years side by side, she was not long apart from him. Her family finds comfort in their faith and in the thought of Patti and Ed together again, after a marriage that shaped and sustained their family.

A private service will be held at a later date, when their daughters and their families will honor Patti and Ed together, celebrating their lives, their love, and the family they built.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation or Samaritan’s Purse.