PATRICIA A. VIELHABER (nee Sheehan) age 76. Beloved wife of the late David P.; dear mother of Marta, Robert (wife Betsy) (of Olney, MD), Janet Fenn (husband Dave), Michael (wife Lisa), Rita Ross (husband Joseph) (of Cincinnati, OH), Carol Frantz (husband Peter) and Joseph; cherished grandmother of 11; fond sister of Lois, Harry, Daniel, Joseph Thomas, Kathy, Francis, John, Joanne and the late Timothy. Contributions suggested to Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 E. 185th St., Cleveland, OH 44119. Funeral Mass Thursday, August 24, 2006 at 10 a.m. in the Marian Chapel at Gesu Church, 2470 Miramar Blvd., University Hts. Interment All Saints Cemetery. Family will receive friends at the SCHULTE & MAHON-MURPHY FUNERAL HOME, 5252 MAYFIELD RD., LYNDHURST (BETWEEN RICHMOND AND BRAINARD) WEDNESDAY 4-8 P.M.

DAVID PATRICK VIELHABER was a pioneer in the field of hospital social work locally and nationally.

He was director of social services at University Hospitals for 13 years. He retired in 1986.

Mr. Vielhaber, 66, died Saturday at his Beachwood home. He had cancer.

He was the first president of the Northeast Ohio Society of Hospital Social Work Directors.

He was on the faculty of Case Western Reserve University's Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. According to colleagues, he helped bring modern management techniques into hospital social work.

For a long time, he was affiliated with the American Hospital Association.

Mr. Vielhaber was born in Mantua and graduated from St. Vincent High School in Akron in 1946.

He graduated from the University of Akron with a bachelor of arts degree in 1950, from St. Louis University with a master's degree in social work in 1952, from the University of Pittsburgh with a master's degree in public health in 1962, and from the University of Denver with a doctorate in social work in 1970.

Mr. Vielhaber served in the Army beginning in 1953, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1973. He served in the medical research unit at West Point Army Hospital, conducting health and medical studies on cadets from 1963 to 1966.

While stationed at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, he developed a medical health plan for military dependents.

He was chief of social work at Walter Reed Army Medical Center from 1970 to 1973.

Mr. Vielhaber oversaw the social work needs of military dependents and wounded veterans during the last years of the Vietnam War.

He was a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the American Public Health Association.

He was a past chairman of Home Health Care of Cleveland Board of Directors. He was involved in founding the Hospice of the Western Reserve during the early 1980s.

He enjoyed woodworking and golf.

Mr. Vielhaber is survived by his wife of 42 years, Patricia S.; sons, Robert D. of Olney, Md., and Joseph A. of Beachwood; daughters, Dr. Marta M. of Mayfield Heights, Janet B. Fenn of Lyndhurst, Rita A. Ross of Cincinnati and Carol L. Frantz of Twinsburg; eight grandchildren; three brothers, and a sister.

Services will be at noon tomorrow at Gesu Parish, 2470 Miramar Blvd., University Heights.

Arrangements are being handled by Schulte and Mahon-Murphy Funeral Home in Lyndhurst.