{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Pat Vance.jpg | name = Patricia H. Vance | caption = | state_senate = Pennsylvania | district = 31st | constituency = | term_start = January 4, 2005 | term_end = November 30, 2016 | predecessor = Harold Mowery | successor = Mike Regan | state_house2 = Pennsylvania | district2 = 87th | constituency2 = | term_start2 = January 1, 1991<ref>{{cite web |title = SESSION OF 1991 - 175TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 1|work = Legislative Journal| publisher = Pennsylvania House of Representatives |date = 1991-01-01|url = http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1991/0/19910101.pdf}}</ref> | term_end2 = November 30, 2004<ref>Per Article II, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, the legislative session ended on November 30, 2004</ref> | predecessor2 = Harold Mowery | successor2 = Glen Grell | party = Republican | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1936|3|19|mf=y}} | birth_place = Williamsport, Pennsylvania, U.S. | alma_mater = Harrisburg Hospital School of Nursing | profession = Nurse | spouse = Charles Doran Vance, deceased | website = | signature = Pat Vance signature.svg }}

'''Patricia H. Vance''' (born March 19, 1936) is an American politician. A Republican, she served as a Pennsylvania State Senator from the 31st district from 2005 to 2016.<ref>Hilton, John. "[https://www.newspapers.com/image/344986964/?terms=%22Patricia%20Vance%22&match=1 Vance anxious about Tuesday's results]." Carlisle, Pennsylvania: ''The Sentinel'', November 3, 2006, p. 4 (subscription required).</ref> Prior to that, she served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 87th district from 1991 to 2004.<ref name="official">{{cite web|title=Patricia H. Vance (Republican)|work=Official Pennsylvania House of Representatives Profile|publisher=Pennsylvania House of Representatives|url=http://www.house.state.pa.us/members/districts/087/087.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000617154939/http://www.house.state.pa.us/members/districts/087/087.htm|archivedate=2000-06-17}}</ref>

==Formative years and family== Born on March 19, 1936, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Vance was a daughter of Frederick B. and Mary Huston.<ref>"[https://www.library.pasen.gov/people/member-biography?ID=7905&body=S Patricia H. Vance]" (biography). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Senate Library, retrieved online May 22, 2023.</ref> She graduated from William Penn High School in 1954, and received her Registered Nursing degree from the Harrisburg Hospital's School of Nursing in 1957. She and her husband, Charles D. Vance, had two sons: Charles Doran ”Chip” Vance, Jr. and Eric Huston Vance, deceased.<ref name="official"/>

==Public service career== Prior to elective office, she worked as a charge nurse for a long-term assisted living facility and was employed as a pediatric surgical nurse by Harrisburg Hospital.<ref name="ReferenceA">"Patricia H. Vance," Pennsylvania Senate Library.</ref>

Vance then served as the Recorder of Deeds for Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, from 1978 to 1990, becoming the first woman to ever hold that office.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

A member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives who represented the 87th district from 1991 to 2004,<ref name="official"/> she was appointed to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Authority (1991-1996) and the Select Committee on Rules Review (1999), and co-chaired the Select Committee on Pharmaceuticals (2000).<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Vance was then elected as the Pennsylvania State Senator from the 31st district, and served in that capacity from 2005 to 2016.<ref>Hilton, "Vance anxious about Tuesday's results," ''The Sentinel'', November 3, 2006.</ref> During her tenure, she authored twenty-five laws, including legislation that prohibited insurance companies from discriminating against domestic violence victims, expanded Pennsylvania's prescription drug benefits, and created an HMO customer "bill of rights." She also supported Domestic Violence Act 24-1996, the Pharmaceutical Assistance Contract for the Elderly, and the Tobacco Settlement Act (55-2004).<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

On September 24, 2014, Vance voted against a Pennsylvania Senate bill (SB1182) that would have legalized medical cannabis in Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Worden|first1=Amy|title=Pa. Senate approves medical marijuana bill; House less likely|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/20140925_Pa__Senate_approves_medical_marijuana_bill__House_less_likely.html|website=www.philly.com|date=24 September 2014 |accessdate=24 September 2014}}</ref>

Vance retired from the Pennsylvania Senate on November 30, 2016.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Awards and other honors== Vance was the recipient of multiple awards, including the:<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

* Advocate for Child Health Legislative Award, Pennsylvania State Education Association, 2008; * Carlisle Area Citizen of the Year, Exchange Club of Carlisle, 2008; * Legislator Award, Cumberland County Conservation District, 2009; * Public Policy and Advocacy Achievement Award, Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, 2009; * Distinguished Service to Families Award, Mid-Atlantic Council on Family Relations; * Friend of Public Education Award, Council on Public Education; and the * Outstanding Community Service Award, Asian Indian Americans of Central Pennsylvania;

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senate_bio.cfm?districtnumber=31 Pennsylvania State Senate - Pat Vance official PA Senate website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040602231306/http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senate_bio.cfm?districtnumber=31 |date=2004-06-02 }} {{CongLinks |votesmart=9263}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vance, Pat}} Category:1936 births Category:Living people Category:Nurses from Pennsylvania Category:American women nurses Category:Presbyterians from Pennsylvania Category:Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Category:Politicians from Williamsport, Pennsylvania Category:People from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Category:Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Category:Women state legislators in Pennsylvania Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly Category:20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly