Pat Nixon, née Thelma Catherine Ryan, byname Pat or Patricia (born March 16, 1912, Ely, Nevada, U.S.—died June 22, 1993, Park Ridge, New Jersey), American first lady (1969–74), the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States, who espoused the cause of volunteerism during her husband’s term. Nicknamed “Pat” because of her birth on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, Thelma Catherine Ryan was the daughter of William Ryan, a miner and farmer, and Katarina Halberstadt Bender Ryan, a German-born widow and mother of two boys. Soon after Pat was born the family moved to Artesia, California, where...