Longtime Simsbury Figure Skating Coach Mourned, Impact Remembered

SIMSBURY/GRANBY, CT — A longtime figure skating coach who spent more than four decades teaching generations of children to skate in Simsbury is being remembered following her death at age 80.

Patricia "Pat" Hoberg LaBissoniere of Granby died Sept. 18, according to her obituary.

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The Simsbury Parks & Recreation Department announced her death to the community this week.

"We are saddened to let our Simsbury Farms Ice Rink Family know about the passing of longtime figure skating coach, Pat LaBissoniere," the department said.

Figure skating was a lifelong passion for LaBissoniere. She competed as a teenager before turning to coaching and eventually directed and taught the Town of Simsbury's Learn to Skate program for more than 40 years, according to her obituary.

Her involvement in the sport continued well into her 70s, when she coached at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury.

LaBissoniere also had a lengthy career outside the rink.

She worked for Connecticut Govs. Ella T. Grasso and William O'Neill before beginning a 21-year career as an executive assistant with Caterpillar Inc.

She later worked for Stanadyne Corp. and the Simsbury Public Works Department before retiring in 2018.

Her obituary also remembered her as an avid gardener whose flowers were admired by others and described her devotion to her family, generosity, and the many people she encountered during her life.

LaBissoniere is survived by her three daughters, Michelle Hébert, Andreé Akst and Jackie Dane; six grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter. She was predeceased by her parents, Helen and Harry Hoberg, and her husbands, George Voellinger and Larry LaBissoniere.

Rather than sending flower arrangements, the family is asking those who want to remember LaBissoniere to consider purchasing and planting a flowering plant or shrub somewhere it can be enjoyed as a lasting memorial.

Calling hours are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Vincent Funeral Home, 880 Hopmeadow St. in Simsbury. A celebration of LaBissoniere's life will follow at 3 p.m. at the Simsbury Farms Ice Rink, 100 Old Farms Road in West Simsbury — the rink where she spent decades helping local skaters learn the sport. Burial will be private.