Pat William Camerino, 89, passed away peacefully on February 4, after a brief hospital stay. Pat was born on May 25, 1935, in Mineral Ridge, Ohio, the son of Patty and Victoria Camerino. He grew up in Niles, Ohio, and graduated from Niles McKinley High School in 1953. The first of his family to attend college, he graduated from Kent State University in 1957 with a BS in Science and a BS in Education. After graduation, he went to Cornell University where he earned a PhD in Biochemistry.

During his years at Kent State, he met Karen Swank, and they married on June 22, 1958, after her graduation. They spent the first years of their marriage at Cornell and after Pat received his Doctorate, they moved to Hanover, New Hampshire. After his post-doctorate work at Dartmouth College, they moved once again to Oregon, where Pat earned another post-doctorate at Oregon State University. After two years in Oregon, Pat was offered a post at the National Institutes of Health in Washington D.C. He spent five years there working for the Institute of Infectious and Metabolic Diseases. In 1970, Pat accepted a position as Associate Graduate Dean for Research at The University of Massachusetts in Amherst. After seven years in that position, the family moved to Houston, Texas. Pat spent 22 years at Baylor College of Medicine as an administrator. His main focus was on research grants and personnel.

In 1980, Pat answered a call to ministry, and in 1984, he was ordained as a Roman Catholic Permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. He spent more than 25 years as a deacon at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Spring, Texas. During those years, he preached, taught, and prepared couples for marriage.

In 2005, Pat and Karen moved to Eagle's Trace retirement community where they were active in many of their programs. Pat taught two classes on religious topics for several years. After the COVID pandemic, he cut back on his activities, and for the last few years of his life, he was content in his life of reading, traveling with Karen, and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Pat and Karen had three children, Deborah (Cammie), born in Ithaca, New York, Ken, born in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Chris, born in Corvallis, Oregon. He is survived by his wife, Karen, their children and spouses, Cammie and Frank Brantley, Ken and Tracey Camerino, and Chris and Kelly Camerino. Pat and Karen have eleven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. This large family has been the source of great joy to Pat and Karen over the 66 years of their marriage.

A funeral service will be held at Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 18511 Klein Church Road, Spring, Texas on Tuesday, February 11, at 1:00 PM, followed by a burial service at Klein Cemetery, FM 249, and then a reception back at Christ the Good Shepherd.