Patricia Elizabeth Saik

Patricia Elizabeth Saik, 72, a retired attorney and a member of a well-known Hammond, Louisiana, family of merchants and civic leaders, died December 15 at her home in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.  She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in September and began hospice treatment soon afterwards.

Ms. Saik was born in Hammond on July 13, 1947, the first child of Saleem “Sam” Saik and Georgette Lutife Saik. She was the fourth generation of the Saik family to live in Hammond. Her great-grandfather, Elias Saik, a native of Lebanon, moved to the city in the early 20th century and was a successful merchant, real estate investor, and opened the Saik Hotel downtown. Ms. Saik’s father, Sam Saik (1913-1991) was also a well-known Hammond businessman and served as mayor of the city for three terms. He was later followed in office by one of Ms. Saik’s younger sisters, Debora, who was mayor for two terms.

Ms. Saik was a student at the Lab School at the Southeastern Louisiana University from kindergarten to high school, graduating with honors in 1965. She attended the University of Alabama, where she enrolled in the College of Commerce & Business Administration, one of the few women students in that era. She majored in marketing and in her senior year was president of the Marketing Club and presented an award for the highest grade average of all marketing students. Her other honors included Who’s Who in American Colleges & Universities, Mortar Board, and dean’s list. She later attended the University of Alabama Law School, graduating at the top of her class in 1974. Because of her stellar record in law school, Ms. Saik was selected for a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans. After the Fifth Circuit, she was in private practice in New Orleans, with John A. Nelson, taking a special interest in civil rights and employee’s rights cases. In the 1980s Ms. Saik joined the U.S. Department of Labor, first working in Nashville, Tenn., then moved to headquarters in Washington, D.C. She specialized in wage and hour law, investigating and prosecuting violations of federal laws protecting workers and workplace conditions. In the early 1990s she returned to the South, settling in Bay St. Louis and working as a single practitioner attorney. Her area of expertise was writing appeals, in both civil and criminal law. Always an advocate for civil rights and women’s rights, Ms. Saik was involved in early feminist groups in college and law school and did volunteer work for causes she supported throughout her career. She was a member of the Louisiana and District of Columbia Bar Associations.

Ms. Saik retired from practicing law after Hurricane Katrina. Her home on the Jourdan River near Bay St. Louis was completely demolished by the storm, although she had safely evacuated. She returned to Bay St. Louis and rebuilt another house she owned that had been damaged by the hurricane and lived there the rest of her life. A lifelong devotee of travel, Ms. Saik’s adventurous explorations of the world increased with every decade. She loved visiting new places, whether an unknown corner of the United States or abroad. She spent time in Morocco, went to Venice for Carnaval, and traveled with her best friend from law school and after, the late Dottie Waldrup, through Latin America, Turkey and Italy. Other travels took her to Spain, England, Scotland, Africa, and Asia. She travelled with friends and alone, always looking for the small details of daily life that explained places and people.

Ms. Saik was known for her eye for style and color. Her dress was a source of wonder and admiration. She mixed colors, fabrics, new and vintage, handmade and off-the-rack with an originality that seemed to effortlessly renew itself.  Her artfulness expressed itself in other ways as well. She was fascinated with photography, beginning with a Brownie camera in childhood. As an adult, her photos were exhibited in several shows in New Orleans and published in newspapers and small magazines. She also turned her attention to writing, publishing some travel stories, including contributing a chapter on shopping to the “TimeOut Guide to New Orleans,” a British travel guide (1996).  A memoir about her beloved father, Sam Saik, was a finalist for Best Essay in the 2014 Faulkner Creative Writing Competition. In Bay St. Louis, Ms. Saik was among the first writers to publish in a lively online neighborhood newsletter, the Fourth Ward Cleaver. It soon blossomed into a major Mississippi Gulf Coast publication, The Shoofly Magazine. She wrote a regular column for the Shoofly, interviewing neighbors, from accomplished artists to contented retirees to teenage athletes.  

In her illness Ms. Saik was supported by a huge and devoted network of friends in Bay St. Louis, Hammond, and New Orleans. Other friends from distant places streamed into town to see her, to help out, and finally, to say goodbye. Susan Cheramie Danos, a former Louisianan living in Tucson, Arizona, left behind her wife and full life to care for Ms. Saik as her condition worsened. As her primary caregiver Susan oversaw meals, housekeeping, medication, coordinated hospice visits, communicated with the huge FOP (Friends of Pat/Patti) network, and brought order and calm to her friend’s daily life. Patricia Saik died quietly, in the home she loved, with her friends and family and beloved cats near. She died as she had lived, with grace, courage, and integrity.

Ms. Saik is survived by her devoted sister, Debora Katherine Saik of Hammond. Their younger sister, Denise Marie Saik, died in 2009. She is also survived by her beloved cousins, Janis McCormick, New Orleans, and John Samaha, Baton Rouge. She leaves behind a multitude of friends, whose lives were enriched beyond measure by her love and friendship.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, December 21, at 11 a.m., Greenlawn Cemetery, 1005 Western Avenue, in Hammond. A celebration of Patricia Saik’s life will be held at a later date in Bay St. Louis.

Donations to Ms. Saik’s memory may be made to two causes close to her heart, Friends of the Animals in Bay St. Louis (www.friendsoftheanimalshelter.org), and Mississippi Public Radio (www.mpbfoundation.org).

An on-line guest book is available at www.harrymckneely.com.