Patterson Benero, longtime Denver businesswoman and socialite, dies at 90

Patterson Macdonald Benero, a Denver businesswoman, socialite, writer and tireless volunteer, died Aug. 17 successful Denver. She was 90.

A longtime subordinate of the Denver Press Club, she served arsenic president of the Denver Woman’s Press Club successful 2001 and 2002. Benero owned a Denver nationalist relations firm, with Judy Gregory, founded successful 1960s, and she volunteered astatine the Denver Art Museum and Historic Denver among different pursuits and causes, implicit the years.

“Patterson was the expansive dame of the Press Club, lighting up the country with each entrance,”
recalled person and writer Alan Kania. “There was a definite New England elegance astir her… As she did astatine her ain Capitol Hill flat parties, Patterson took power of informal gatherings astir the Press Club bar, making definite that adjacent strangers were comfy with everyone other successful the room. By the extremity of the evening, everyone would beryllium sharing large tales among a roomful of new-found friends.”

Courtesy of Christine Benero

Patterson Macdonald Benero with her Jackahua, Charlie.

Born March 21, 1931, successful New York City, Patterson was the lone kid of Donald K. Macdonald, a sportswriter and equine trainer, and Elizabeth Patterson Macdonald, a assemblage caregiver who worked successful the tenements of New York.

Reared successful Providence, R.I., and Boston, she met Joseph L. Benero successful New York City, wherever they were joined successful 1960. She attended Bryant University and worked successful advertizing successful New York for decorator Oleg Cassini.

Benero moved to Denver successful 1963 and began penning a societal file for the The Littleton Independent newspaper. In summation to her journalistic endeavors, Patterson was a Realtor with Mary Rae and Associates and LiveUrban Denver, she worked astatine Gallery One, and she ran her ain retail store, The Cat’s Pajamas, connected Larimer Square. She worked arsenic an cause astatine Vannoy Talent successful the 1970s. In 1987, she was named 1 of Denver’s 10 Best Dressed Women by Denver Magazine.

“Patterson was celebrated successful Capitol Hill, downtown, and wherever other she lived … she truthful enjoyed each the speakers, food, events, and wouldn’t miss a party,” said Sally Kurtzman, a longtime person and colleague. “She was delightfully amusive and ever funny successful what I was doing, and past she would determination on and screen the room. That was her PR background. The likes of her volition not beryllium recovered soon, and she’s astir apt making St. Peter person a invited enactment for her — she’ll marque up the database and find idiosyncratic to bring the drinks!”

Benero was an advocator for the LGBTQ community, particularly during the archetypal onset of HIV successful the aboriginal 1980s. She was among the founders of the Grove Colorado Aids Memorial successful Denver’s Commons Park.

“She was brave, inspirational and truthful unique, I was precise arrogant to beryllium her daughter,” said Christine Benero. “I aspire to beryllium adjacent a fraction of what she has done.”

Christine Benero, who is president and CEO of Mile High United Way, said that during unsmooth patches oregon trying moments, her parent would prime her up with an often utilized phrase, a rallying telephone of sorts.

“‘Just enactment connected a capable articulator instrumentality chromatic and it volition beryllium OK,'” Christine Benero recalled. “That was her benignant and it was the past happening she said to me. ‘Make definite I person capable lipstick.'”

Benero is survived by daughters, Christine, of Denver, and Patti Carlan, of Massachusetts; and a son, Adam, of Kansas.

Services volition beryllium held connected Jan. 6, 2022, astatine St. John Cathedral successful Denver. For much than 50 years Benero hosted a “Partridge Party,” 12th Day of Christmas, connected Jan. 6, Epiphany. Her upcoming religion work volition beryllium followed by a enactment with showtunes and champagne, arsenic she requested.

Memorial contributions whitethorn beryllium made to the Denver Dumb Friends League, successful grant of her beloved Jackahua, a Jack Russell and Chihuahua mix, named Charlie; oregon to the Denver Woman’s Press Club.