lit a candle 1h agoMy mother lived in Wilmington for years and used to talk about Patti Blevins like she was family, how she pushed through that abuse protection law back in 93. She called me this morning to tell me Patricia died, 72, and her voice cracked a little. Never met her, never been to Delaware myself, but I grew up hearing that name at the dinner table like she mattered.
Their story
Patricia "Patti" Blevins was an American Democratic politician who spent more than a quarter of a century in the Delaware Senate and rose to become its President pro tempore. Beginning as a neighbourhood activist in the small town of Elsmere, she became known in Dover as a determined legislator on…
Patricia "Patti" Blevins was an American Democratic politician who spent more than a quarter of a century in the Delaware Senate and rose to become its President pro tempore. Beginning as a neighbourhood activist in the small town of Elsmere, she became known in Dover as a determined legislator on domestic violence, children's health, mental health and animal welfare. She died on 7 October 2026, aged 72.
Patricia Mary Walker was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on 21 February 1954, the daughter of John Walker, a research chemist at Hercules, and Betty (Baker) Walker. She grew up in suburban Wilmington, graduated from Mount Pleasant High School and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Temple University in three years, graduating in 1975.
Her political career began in 1983, when Elsmere residents fought a plan by the Chessie railroad system to build a freight terminal on 17 acres of residential land. When the town council backed the project, she led a slate of five residents who ran against the incumbents and won, and the terminal was stopped. She served on the Elsmere Town Council and as mayor from 1985 to 1990.
In 1990 she was elected to the Delaware Senate for the 7th district. She was Majority Whip from 2007 to 2009, Majority Leader from 2009 to 2012 and President pro tempore from 2013 until she narrowly lost her seat in the 2016 election. She helped create the Delaware Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the state's Protection from Abuse law in 1993, led the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, sponsored 1998 legislation requiring insurers to cover serious mental illness on the same terms as physical illness, and helped establish the Office of the Child Advocate and the Office of Animal Welfare. She also spent nearly a decade as executive director of the Delaware Helpline, groundwork for the service that became Delaware 211. She was inducted into the Delaware Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.
After leaving the Senate she briefly directed the Office of Animal Welfare before stepping down to spend time with her family. She was married to Michael Blevins and was predeceased by her son John. Governor Matt Meyer ordered flags lowered to half staff, calling her a true public servant who led with compassion, conviction and a deep love for Delaware.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), family obituary via Krienen-Griffith Funeral Home, Delaware Public Media and State of Delaware News, October 2026. Wikipedia ↗
Photos
1Patti Blevins speaking at a press conference
by People Forever
That domestic violence statute changed a lot of lives here, your mother wasn't wrong to talk about her that way.