Patty Gregory-Burke (photo by Steve Weiss)
Al Weigel
Many bright and accomplished individuals live in this community. However, one person, Patty Gregory-Burke, who belongs to SaddleBrooke Community Circle Player’s (CCP), exemplifies these qualities at a level few can match.
Originally from Rochester, N.Y., Patty and her husband Jim moved to SaddleBrooke in 2006. This was after a combined 23 years in Emergency Communications, 17 years with Monroe County/Rochester, N.Y., and seven years with the Carlsbad, Calif., Police Department as a 911 Communications Supervisor.
As Patty contemplated retirement in SaddleBrooke, she recalled fond memories of her love of dance and performing arts, which started at a very young age and continued into high school where she performed in West Side Story, The Music Man, and Annie Get Your Gun. So after settling in, she auditioned and was selected for her first CCP acting role in Eat, Drink and Be Deadly. Each subsequent year she has been involved in one way or another in a CCP production. She has acted in The Mafioso Murders, The Outsider, and The Curious Savage, as well as several acting roles in An Evening of One Acts.
Along the way Patty has enjoyed many aspects of theater production. She has worked backstage as makeup artist, assistant stage manager, costume mistress, and sound engineer for many of CCP’s productions. Always a joy to work with, Patty does the best job possible, whether as an actress or in various backstage support roles.
What else is cool about this special person? For one thing, Patty is a huge genealogy nerd, proud of her Irish and French Canadian heritage. She has also generously worked as a volunteer for the SaddleBrooke Library system for almost 15 years. Additionally, she and Jim are world travelers … on steroids! Whenever you see them they are either headed out or returning from an international trip. They have traveled to over 50 countries—many times backpacking for up to six months at a time. Based on their extensive travel, she recently taught a class, Independent Travel Your Way, for the SaddleBrooke Computer Club.
Those who know Patty see the direct, empathetic, and genuine person she is. As a modern day renaissance woman her multidimensional knowledge, adaptability, and independence are to be envied as she pursues her passions and strives to live her best life here in SaddleBrooke.