Patricia Angela Pumphry

Patricia Angela. Patsy. Patsy Ann. Pat. Mom. Aunt Pat. Grandma. Nana.

Pat was born in Anderson Township and lived her life in Ohio. She had beloved family and friends. Her mother, brother and sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, children and grandchildren were all very dear to her. She worked hard to keep close to them.

 She loved school and learning, and read voraciously. Her self-assigned reading could have earned her a college degree. History was a favorite, but she covered numerous genres and was a dedicated newspaper reader as well. She was a writer of letters - corresponding throughout the years with family and friends - and left behind dozens of personal journals full of thoughts, observations, and goals. Pat chronicled family life with photography, and gifted us so many memories to share. She loved museums and parks, and took family and friends along for the fun. She loved gardens and woods, and walking in them. She was an accomplished sewist, knitter, and needle crafter, and painter. Pat was also often the handy-woman around the house, figuring out how to DIY before the term came to be. Magazines and the library were her internet. She enjoyed cooking and baking, and was the center of many a holiday dinner. She was the queen of cinnamon rolls.

 The most enduring friendship and love of her life was formed when she was 17, in 1956. After a blind date with Ron Pumphry, Pat never had eyes for anyone else. They married in 1959. While Ron finished his college degree and started his career, they had three children. Extended family and friends were always important to Pat and Ron, with most vacations and free time spent with them. Pat was a dedicated, loving Mom, both a planner and a spontaneous fun-maker. She made sure her children worked to prepare and learn, but also made certain we had time to be children, to play and discover. She nurtured our dreams with us, and gave us tools to go after them. She was there when things got hard, celebrated our successes, and helped us pay for school. She held us and our babies, and their babies. Pat and Ron were role models in their marriage for us and many others.

 Pat was a person of faith. Her Aunt Mimi was her early teacher and mentor, taking her to Sunday School and church, and setting her on a lifelong path of striving to uphold the values taught by Jesus. Pat worshipped as a Baptist, Lutheran, and Methodist. Her highest goal was to recognize every person as a loved child of God, in all of her life. She was a Sunday school student and teacher, served her church in many other diverse roles, and daily took her mission out of the church into her sphere of the world. She was a role model to many, and spread a lot of love. She was a dedicated Bible reader and student through the end of her life, and owned quite a library of different translations. She gave away many Bibles, all of them chosen to fit the recipient.

 Pat has asked to be remembered as her beloved Ron was, with a private memorial at Foxfield Preserve, where her remains will be sprinkled in the same meadow where Ron's were. 

In lieu of flowers, her children request that you send any memorial contributions to The Oaks Foundation www.oaksfoundation.com, Aultman Hospice and Palliative Care www.aultman.org, Akron Children’s hospital www.akronchildrens.org, or your local library.