Patricia Warner

Patricia Warner (died September 26, 2020) was a former American spy and a Congressional Gold Medal recipient.[1][2]

After her husband was killed on the U.S.S. Duncan in the Battle of Guadalcanal less than a year after they got married, Warner wanted to help the war effort and joined the Office of Strategic Services.[1][3][2] She served as spy for two years.[2] Warner was stationed in Spain where her cover was working as a secretary.[2] She infiltrated the high society and helped downed American pilots escape from Nazi occupied France through the French Resistance.[1][2] She also traveled to New York, Washington, D.C., and London.[2][3]

Warner earned a degree from Barnard College in 1949. She was offered a Fulbright Scholarship in 1951 but declined it to marry her second husband.[3] She later was awarded a certificate in learning disabilities from Tufts University in 1975.[3] In 1985, she earned a master's degree in independent studies, specializing in eating disorders, from Lesley College.[3]

Warner had six children, with one from her first marriage and five from her second.[3] In 2019, at the age of 98, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in a surprise ceremony by Congresswoman Katherine Clark at the Lincoln Public Library.[2][1][3] She lived in Lincoln, Massachusetts[1][3] until her death on September 26, 2020, at age 99.[4]