Lasting Memories

Mimi Pachacki
March 20, 1916-March 6, 2013
Palo Alto, California

A Life to Be Celebrated Miriam ?Mimi? Bopp (Fisch) Pachacki March 20, 1916 to March 6, 2013

Occupation: Psychiatric social worker/private therapist, loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, mentor, and friend.

Education: Master of Social Work, University of Washington, 1947; Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Radcliffe College, 1938.

Mimi?s life could be characterized by one word: adventure. Born in New York to Carl and Mildred Bopp, she quickly caught the travel bug at an early age as her father, a career military man, constantly kept his family on the move. One of Mimi?s fondest memories was attending elementary school in the Philippines. She attended high school at Punahou in Honolulu, Hawaii. After finishing her studies there she was accepted into Radcliffe, the all-girls school of Harvard. Graduating Radcliffe with a BA in Sociology, Mimi traveled back to Manila with her parents. It was on that lengthy sea voyage that she met her first husband, Lt. Ted Fisch, a pilot in the Army Air Forces. Shortly after they wed, Ted was shipped off to war. Ted was tragically lost when his plane was shot down a week after the Pearl Harbor Attack in 1941. Mimi lived on Clark Air Base in the Philippines until she was evacuated and she returned to the West Coast. She went on to serve with the American Red Cross as a medical social worker from 1943-1945. After the Red Cross, she enrolled in graduate school at the University of Washington where she received a Masters Degree in Social Work. While in Washington, she met and married Ed Pachacki in 1947. She and Ed started a family and they had four children, Carl, Mark, Glenn and Michele. First starting in San Francisco, and then making their way to New York, before they eventually settled in Palo Alto in 1955. Mimi was very active in the PTA, AAUW and the Radcliffe Club while the kids were growing up. She later became the President of the Radcliffe Alumni locally. In 1961, Mimi got a job as a social worker, a career of helping people that made her extremely happy and which she found immensely fulfilling. Mimi eventually retired in 1978 after achieving the position of Director of Mental Health in Santa Clara County. Although she officially retired, she continued to see her private practice patients well into her 80?s. Her adventurous spirit continued into retirement. Spending time with her family, traveling the world and being a part of the community was her passion. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren gave her so much pleasure and were the light of her life. A love of travel had taken her almost all continents: Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, South and North America all the while taking beautiful photos and keeping fascinating diaries. She wrote with a perspective of great appreciation of the people and places she encountered. On these travels she met many people who became lifelong friends of the entire family. These friends became welcomed house guests who she loved hosting and correspond. Her most memorable trips were those she took with her beloved grandchildren. These trips included Hawaii, England, Scotland, Australia and Africa. In Eastern Europe she discovered and contacted previously unknown relatives from Poland. Giving back to the community was an integral part of her life. She collaborated on several books about the Pacific front during WWII, providing valuable information and photos. Additionally, her volunteered for St. Vincent De Paul Society, taught English and played bridge, attending the opera regularly and supporting local theatre. She passed away peacefully in her sleep, surrounded by her loving family. There will never be another one like her. Mimi truly was an amazing person who lived an extraordinary life, touching so many along the way. She will be dearly missed. If there is one sentence which could sum up Mimi, it is ?Mimi never met a stranger.?