She wasn't from around here, but she made it her home. Pat Kesling, a longtime reporter, city employee and community volunteer, is remembered throughout the Lehigh Valley following her loss to a long, difficult illness June 13 at the age of 71.

Former Mayor Gordon Mowrer, himself convalescing at home this week, remembers Patricia "Pat" McInerney Kesling warmly. He hired Kesling at city hall in 1974 to work as an ombudsman, where she served her new home and sank deep roots throughout the area.

"All I can tell you is good things," Mowrer said. "She was a good employee and she came to love Bethlehem. She made Bethlehem better."

Kesling was originally from Oakland, Calif., and spent much of her youth in New York and New Jersey. She graduated from West Virginia University and began a career in journalism, eventually making her way to the Lehigh Valley in 1967, where she became one of the early female reporters at the Call-Chronicle newspapers. She later worked for The Globe Times (now The Express Times) and The New York Times' Northeast Journal. She also freelanced for the Bethlehem Press.

But the foundation of her commitment to the people of Bethlehem began during Mowrer's tenure, and he recalls her service as much more than a job. "Her writings were more than just information … You can see all the good things she did working for nonprofits and helping during election times," he said.

Indeed, the list of organizations and committees Kesling participated in is exhaustive.

She worked in constituent services for State Representative TJ Rooney, and later at Musikfest, now ArtsQuest, as its first director of development. There she was part of the team that built The Banana Factory Arts and Education Center. She helped coordinate funding for programs such as B-Smart, an after-school enrichment program for middle school youth, and BananaWORKS, a jobs training arts program.

Kesling led the effort to build Northampton County shelters for Turning Point, a safe haven for area victims of domestic violence. The Junior League honored her for her work as Outstanding Volunteer of the Year in 1990. She also was recognized by the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem and as the Outstanding Woman of the Year by the Bethlehem YWCA, the last woman to receive the award as its solo recipient.

She was featured in the 2013 book, "Legendary Locals of Bethlehem," and until the late stages of her illness she continued to support the Quota Club's reading initiative, Cops 'n' Kids, and the American Cancer Society's Boutique at the Rink and its Cancer Support Community.

Kesling's children and grandchildren, from Texas to Bethlehem to Afghanistan, invite her adopted community to a public celebration Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ArtsQuest SteelStacks.