Patricia Austin

Mar 17, 1937 -

Aug 3, 2026

Patricia Austin, 89, of Dearborn, Mich., passed away peacefully on Aug. 3, 2026, in Dearborn, in the presence of family members.

Born in Detroit, Mich., to Helene Guzik and Walter Musial, she graduated from Chadsey High School and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. Later, she earned a second BFA from the University of Washington and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alaska.

She became a noted artist and poet in the Pacific Northwest, winning awards and having many gallery shows in both Anchorage, Alaska, where she lived for more than 20 years, and later, in Port Townsend, Wash. Her art work, both prints and watercolors, is in many public and private collections and she was exhibited widely, including in Japan and Norway and at the Smithsonian Museum.

Her art ran the gamut from abstract to more representational, influenced by everything from Alaska's sky and mountains to the veining in marble, including on the floor of the Vatican.

While in Anchorage, she also did art for a local theater group, a music festival and a hospital, as well as the lobby mural in a community center.

She is survived by her sisters, Donna Abraham of Dearborn Heights, Mich., and Helen Glaszek of Allen Park, Mich.; brother, Robert (Anne) Musial of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.; and numerous nieces, nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Alan Austin; parents, Helene Lisiewski and Walter Musial; and sister, Joelene Igielski. A private memorial is being planned.