Obituary of Patricia A. Kosten

Patricia A. (Donnellan) Kosten, EdD, Doctor of Education, died in her rural Warren County, NJ home on February 22, 2026, at the age of 93. Patricia, one of eight siblings, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she was raised by her Irish Immigrant parents, Margaret Sweeney and Patrick Donnellan.

She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Andrew Kosten, who died in 2008; sisters, Margaret Pluth, Kathleen Garber, Frances Donnellan, Eileen Kelly; brothers, Jerry and Morton Donnellan; a stepson, Charles Kosten.

Brother, Gerard Donnellan; stepchildren, Constance Miltenberger, Diana Jones, and Dr. Paul Kosten; along with members of the Donnellan and Kosten families, mourn her loss.

For an extended period, Dr. Kosten nursed the sick as a Franciscan Sister of the Poor in hospitals in the tri-state area. Subsequent doctoral study at Teachers College, Columbia University led to her long nursing educator career. The privilege of preparing new generations of nurses at Cornell University New York Hospital School of Nursing and later Pace University, New York, was a sentiment she frequently expressed. Her idealistic commitment to her students’ professional and personal development was a hallmark of the instruction and guidance of her students.

Funeral Services will be private under the direction of MacFadden Funeral Home, Belvidere, NJ.

Donations are requested to be made in Dr. Patricia A. Kosten’s memory to the Nursing Student Scholarship Fund at Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, New York, NY.