Hospital Patron Patricia Hoag Is Dead at 73

Patricia Hoag, a local philanthropist who helped spearhead her family’s efforts to battle cancer and other diseases, died after a long illness Thursday morning at the hospital bearing her name. She was 73.

Hoag and her late husband, George Hoag II, had worked closely to support programs at Hoag Hospital, which George Hoag co-founded in 1950. The family foundation donated $6 million nearly a decade ago to establish the Patty & George Hoag Cancer Center, the largest facility of its kind in Orange County.

The same foundation also gave an additional $10 million for other Hoag Hospital programs, including the Hoag Heart Institute.

A hospital spokeswoman said Thursday that Patricia Hoag added a personal touch to the Hoag Hospital campus by lining the pedestrian walkway between the cancer center and the main hospital with wildlife photos she took on an African safari.

Hoag became a member of the hospital’s board of directors after her husband died of a heart attack in March 1995.

“Patty was a woman whose tremendous initiative and strength were matched by creativity and compassion,” Hoag President Michael Stephens said in a press release. “She helped make Hoag Hospital what it is today and in the process endeared herself to hospital staff and patients alike.”

Hoag is survived by three children: Grant Hoag of Cayucos, Calif.; Melinda Smith of Santa Monica; and Stephen Hoag of Paso Robles; nine grandchildren; and a brother, Jack Hossie of Grover City.

Services are pending. The family requests gifts be sent to the Patty Hoag Fund at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, 1 Hoag Drive, P.O. Box 6100, Newport Beach, CA 92658-6100.