A Life Story

Please click here to view the Funeral Mass via livestreamPatricia Barragan Schreck, 95, entered into eternal rest on January 2, 2025. She was born at Telfair Hospital in Savannah on March 1, 1929, the fifth and last child of Lottie and Frank Barragan. She was the widow of Joseph C. Schreck and a lifelong resident of Savannah, GA. She attended local public schools (37th Street and Richard Arnold Junior High) and proudly graduated from St. Vincent's Academy in 1946. At age 16 in February of 1946, she became the organist for the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, thanks to the wisdom and foresight of Rector Msgr. T. James McNamara, her mentor. She remained the organist and choir director at the Cathedral for 66 years. Patty loved all of her choirs --- the Cathedral Men's Choir, the Women's Choir, the Savannah Catholic Deanery Choir, and the SVA Alumnae Chorus. She served as the Music Director at St. Vincent's Academy where she taught church music and choral singing for 47 years. In 1945-46, she composed the St. Vincent's Academy Alma Mater and in the mid-1960s, she wrote the St. Vincent's Fight Song, both still sung by students today. In 1971, she initiated the beautiful choral Christmas Candlelight Service with her students in chorus, which continues as a St. Vincent's Christmas tradition to this day. She trained hundreds of young women at St. Vincent's to love singing Church music and music of all kinds. She directed two choruses while there --- The Chorale and Les Chanteurs. During her lifetime, she received many honors for her contributions to the Church and to music in Savannah. Saint Pope John Paul II awarded her the Papal Medal "Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice" for her service to the Church. The City of Savannah presented her the key to the City and a proclamation declaring "Patty Barragan Schreck Day" on May 31, 1981, and again on March 15, 1989, given by the Irish Community for her years of devotion to Irish music in Savannah. She was awarded the Benedictine Medal of Excellence in 1976 and in 1984 was one of the initial recipients of St. Vincent's Academy's highest honor, the McAuley Medal. In 1978, she was named one of Savannah's "Outstanding Women of the Year" and was also named one of the "Outstanding Teachers of the Year" by the Georgia Association of Independent Schools. In 2000, she became one of the first recipients of the Catholic Diocese's "Gartland Service Award" for her many years of dedicated, unprecedented service to the Church. In 2001, she was selected as the "Coastal Georgia Older Worker of the Year" from the Savannah area. In 2006, she was awarded the "Sister Mary Jude Walsh Award/Medal" for her loyalty, service, advocacy and devotion to the Sisters of Mercy and St. Vincent's Academy. In August 2012, she retired as Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, after 66 years of dedicated and devoted service.Patty always said that the best thing that ever happened in her life was her marriage to Joseph Charles Schreck in 1950 --- her heart and her rock. They raised three children who greatly loved their parents. Joe was a devoted father and a supportive, proud husband of all of Patty's music endeavors. He preceded her in death in 1993, after 42 years of marriage. She was also preceded in death by her parents Lottie and Frank Barragan; her two brothers James Barragan and Frank and his wife Ruth; her two sisters Elizabeth Barragan Bickers and her husband Charles, and Sister M. Fidelis Barragan, RSM (nee Nancy Barragan); and nephews Danny Bickers and Michael Barragan.Loving recognition must be given to Irene Jackson for her constant care, companionship and love over the past six years (and beyond to Patty's brother Frank Barragan), and to LaDalla George for her invaluable care on weekends. She is survived by her daughter, Nancy Schreck of Savannah; and two sons, Rev. Msgr. Christopher J. Schreck, recently retired of the Catholic Diocese of Savannah and Rev. Msgr. J. Gerard Schreck of Savannah, Rector of the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist; several nieces and nephews; her life-long and dearest friend, Tillie Stacy; and her faithful canine companion, Squiggy.A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2025 at Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist. A private burial for family and friends will be held on Tuesday, January 7, 2025 in Catholic Cemetery. Remembrances may be sent to the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, to St. Vincent's Academy, Attn: Patty Schreck Music Scholarship Fund, or to Hospice Savannah.