(Photo credit: Minnesota Star Tribune)

Mezzo-soprano Patricia “Patsy” Louise Okaya passed away peacefully on July 23. She was 94.

Okaya was born in Mobridge, South Dakota. She was raised in a home filled with music and art, she sang three-part harmonies with her sisters, regularly soloed at school and church, and won many in-state music competitions. Later, she attended Macalester College and earned a BA in Voice from the University of Montana, as well as an MA in Voice from Northwestern University, where she studied conducting, composition, and vocal performance. She later received a second MA in Music Education.

In 1954 ,while still in graduate school, Okaya was hired by the Lyric Opera of Chicago for chorus and comprimario roles.  Throughout the 1950s, she also performed as an oratorio, symphony, and choral soloist across the South and Midwest. After leaving Chicago, she moved to Vienna, Austria to study and perform as a soloist with the Vienna Kammeroper and other musical ensembles. In 1959, Okaya joined the National Opera Company where she toured the US singing the title roles in “Carmen” and “La Cenerentola,” with the latter also broadcast nationally on public television. Okaya’s career continued by teaching voice and piano, and performed in operas, operettas, and as a soloist in churches and synagogues. She also worked at the American Geological Institute in Alexandria, Virginia for 16 years.

In her passing, Okaya chose to help others by participating in the University of Minnesota’s Anatomy Bequest Program, which supports high quality education for future health professionals and continued advancements in medical care through research.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Frances Grainger and Rose Honkala, her son-in-law Michael McPhee, and her former husband, Akira. She is survived by her children, and extended family. A celebration of life will be held on Oct. 11. at 1:30 pm, in Minneapolis. Donations in her memory may be made to the Minnesota Orchestra, Feline Rescue, or the Presbyterian Homes Foundation.