TEMPE, Ariz. – Patricia Barrows Langlin Brazil, 96, passed away peacefully at her home on Aug. 23, 2021.

Pat was born to Henry Warren Hayden and Beatrice Berry Hayden on Aug. 1, 1925. She grew up in Wilton, and graduated from high school at Wilton Academy, as Salutatorian. She attended Westbrook Junior College and ultimately obtained a bachelor’s degree in business education from Boston University during World War II. Later she obtained a master’s in Education from the University of Maine. Pat had an illustrious career as a vocational educator and businesswoman.

After teaching high school in Maine, she and her husband, Charlie, moved to California. She chaired the business education department at Duarte High School, Duarte, Calf., later became regional supervisor of the Bureau of Business Education, California State Department of Education, and ultimately became the director of Vocational Education for the State of California.

After moving to Arizona, she was the co-owner, director and officer of George Brazil Plumbing and Electrical, which she helped found in Phoenix, and was actively engaged in the business until her death. Pat won countless awards over the last 50 years, including many as a teacher, administrator, businesswoman, leader, and philanthropist. For instance, she won the Leader of American Secondary Education Award in 1971, the Vocational Educator of the Year (1988) and Administrator of the Year (1990) by the Association of California Administrators. She was invited to speak before Congress on vocational education in 1982, and she was appointed as a delegate to an advisory commission to Taiwan on vocational education. She and George Brazil were two of the key founders of Nexstar, formerly known as Contractors 2000, a best practice trade association for plumbing, HVAC, and electrical service companies. The organization they founded has grown to 75 employees, with over 800 member companies having combined revenues of over $1 billion per year across the United States, Canada, and Australia. In 2015, Pat founded the George Brazil Plumbing School at the East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa, Ariz. to provide great vocational educational opportunities to recent high school graduates and adults.

Pat was an avid patron of the arts, especially supporting ASU’s Gammage Theater, on whose board she recently served and was awarded their highest honor for her contributions to ASU Gammage and the community.

Pat was married to Charles Langlin, who predeceased her in 1984, and later to George Brazil, who predeceased her in 2012. Her brothers Henry Hayden, Robert Hayden, Winslow Hayden; and nephew Doug Hayden also predeceased her.

She is survived by nieces and nephews Richard Hayden, Philip Hayden, David Hayden, and Debbie Rybeck, their spouses, children and grandchildren; along with very close friends Jim Cord and Chuck Brazeal of Tempe, Ariz.; and the entire family of George Brazil Plumbing and Electrical.

A celebration of Pat’s life will be held on Oct. 17 at 1 p.m., at ASU Gammage Auditorium, 1200 S. Forest Ave. Tempe, Ariz. 85281. Richardson Funeral Home, Tempe, Ariz. is compassionately serving the Langlin family.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Patricia Langlin Brazil memorial fund at Explore the Trades, a 501(c)(3) charity of Nexstar focusing on vocational education and career development in the trades, http://www.explorethetrades.org/who-we-are/donate.