Patricia Statz

After living in Germany for the past 17 years, Patricia Statz was thrilled to return to the U.S. and buy a house in Washington, D.C.

A student of theater and music who sang at many weddings, the married mother of two worked at the Pentagon for the past 18 months.

“One time we were traveling in Europe, and we were standing outside an old Gothic church,” said her mother, JoAnn Statz of Chippewa Falls, Wis. “She said, `I always wanted to sing in one of these Gothic churches.’ So she wandered into the balcony and she sang `Ave Maria.’ It was beautiful.”