Florence M. Patton

Rock Rapids, IA In Loving Memory of Florence Patton January 18, 1909 ~ February 10, 2008 FUNERAL SERVICE 10:30 AM, Saturday February 16, 2008 United Methodist Church Rock Rapids, Iowa Rev. Anita Bane, Officiating Visitation will be Friday, Feb. 15, 2008 from 2-8 PM with the family present from 6-8 PM at the Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids. SPECIAL MUSIC One Day At A Time & Beyond The Sunset Phyllis Morlock Te Slaa, Organist Tom Wall, Vocalist HONORARY CASKET BEARERS Robert Patton Edward Sindt ACTIVE CASKET BEARERS Charles Patton Christopher Patton Steven Kortanek Bobby Knobloch Steven Serck Josh Drake INTERMENT Riverview Cemetery, Rock Rapids, Iowa The family of Florence Patton invites everyone to join them for refreshments in the church basement following the graveside services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In leu of flowers memorial preferred to the Lyon County Hospice. Florence (Hickman) Patton, daughter of Joseph and Margaret (Aden) Hickman, was born January 18, 1909, in the family farm home at the southwest edge of Ellsworth, Minnesota. The youngest child in the family, she was known as a dare devil, climbing to the upper branches of trees in the grove, spinning the weather vane on top of the barn cupola, and putting her climbing skills to good use oiling the gears on the farms 60-foot windmill, a job considered too dangerous for her older brother. She said the hardest part was staying alert to avoid the rotating vane as the wind changed direction. Florence enjoyed eating lunch with her dad in the field, as he and his team of work horses were taking a break. She would tell of the hazards of riding to church in a horse-drawn buggy wearing a white dress. Her dad taught her to drive the family car so she could drive her mother into town to sell her home-churned butter, a favorite in Ellsworth. She didnt tell her dad how fast she could get her there. Drivers licenses and speed limits were yet to be invented. As a youth in the 20s she enjoyed going to dances in Kanaranzi and Adrian, where the Protestant girl would note the reactions of mothers of the Catholic boys when she would dance with them. In her later years, when her children were in middle age, she would confess (with a sly smile) to riding on the front fender of a Model T as she and her friends were careening down dirt roads at 60 mph. No wonder she worried so much about her own kids as they were growing up. A gifted student, Florence graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1925 at age 16, having completed her degree in three years. But her dad believed education beyond high school was wasted on a girl. She regretted the lack of opportunity the rest of her life, instilled a love of learning in her children and made sure they had opportunities she was denied. When she was a child, her older sister Bernice was responsible for making little Florences clothes. As Florence would later tell it, she complained one too many times about the fit and the details. Bernice threw a dress at me and said, Do it yourself! That important turning point led Florence into a lifetime of sewing. Florence married Albert Patton of Rock Rapids in 1932 at the depth of the Depression. Her condition of accepting his proposal of marriage was that he had $500 saved for living room furniture. The hard working and ambitious young man must have thought the price was worth paying. In the early years of her marriage, Florence supplemented the meager family income by doing dress making in her home for ladies of the more well-to-do class. During the Depression, she purchased old clothes from church bazaars, took them apart (pressing and preserving fabric she wanted to use), saved the zippers, trims, and buttons and used these items to create whole new outfits for pennies. In 1955, the Rock Rapids High School Band members were outfitted in new uniforms, but some of the band members were too small for available sizes so Florence volunteered to make copies from scratch. She mimicked everything from the decorative epaulets to re-creating the braid and, to the delight of both the wearer and herself, no one was the wiser. More than anything else, sewing was her passion and creative outlet until her mid-90s when her vision was no longer sharp enough. Throughout her life Florence was known for always being dressed up . She was meticulous about her appearance and always appeared in public in a perfectly tailored suit with hosiery, high heels, jewelry and coiffed hair. She was infinitely pleased when people complimented her for this and always remembered someone who said, Florence, you always look so put together. During the 1930s the family home was at the intersection of the Illinois Central and the Rock Island lines. Unemployed men traveling on the freight trains would congregate in the area, and Florence would allow them to camp on the property, get water from the outside spigot, and dig potatoes from the garden in the fall. She would help them get their food cooked and was as generous as she could be at a time when there was little to be shared. Albert eventually purchased the trucking firm where he was employed and operated Patton Trucking and an Occo feed dealership into the 1960s. The couple lived modestly and wisely invested their savings, allowing Florence to be secure in retirement and generous with her children and grandchildren. After Alberts death in 1969 Florence managed the farms they had purchased, developing a close relationship with the young man who began renting the ground in 1979. He continues in that capacity for her heirs. As the root of her name implies, Florence loved flowers, filling her home with potted plants. She was very creative, making toys for her children, including a doll house and barn that are now family heirlooms. She loved to tinker and make or alter things rather than purchase new, a hold over from making do during hard times but also just because she loved the creative challenge. She created much of the artwork in her own home with pictures made from tiny fragments of yarn to paintings on glass to crewel work and embroidery and she crocheted the decorative throws in her home and several dresses. Her basement was a treasure trove of odds and ends (she saw a future for almost every item and saved virtually everything) where her grandchildren found an unending supply of costumes, toys, and the raw material for creative play and science projects. For Florence, education was a life-long pursuit. She read several newspapers front to back and continuously worked on her vocabulary " usually testing at the level of a college graduate. She was well informed on current events, engaging her grandchildren, or anyone else handy, in lively debates on issues of the day. Little wonder that three of her grandchildren are practicing attorneys or are presently completing law school. Florence designed the new family home built in 1951 that she lived in until entering the nursing home in December of this last year. She followed by designing a major addition to the house at age 89. Her impetus was to add a 2-car attached garage, but never one to be behind the times, she included a new family room with a gas fireplace, skylights, a ceramic tiled floor and a wall of French doors opening on to a deck. Upon spending more than she planned, she sought a mortgage. Considering she built the home for cash and weathered the Depression, this was indeed a courageous step, but her common sense prevailed over fear and the result became her bragging rights when she could say I just got a 30 year mortgage and Im 90! They must think Im going to be around for a while! Some thought such undertakings at her age a little odd, however, both she and her extended family have greatly enjoyed this addition for the last 10 years. Florence drove her car until age 95, continuing her life-long habit of heavy on the gas and the brakes. But in spite of her driving style, never had an accident and never got a traffic ticket. At one time in her 90s she forgot to renew her drivers license and had to retake the whole test " written and driving. When she finally passed, they asked her if she wanted to be an organ donor. Always quick on the draw, her response was, Sure, but who the heck wants 90+ old parts? When her reaction time slowed she opted to quit driving in lieu of slowing down and driving like a little old lady. Florence was a member of the Methodist Church in Rock Rapids for over 70 years, being active in Ladies Circle, Sunday school, and tending the kitchen during innumerable church functions. She was a founding member of the Rock Rapids Golden Age Club, which was a handy jaunt across the alley from her home. Many pleasant afternoons were spent playing cards with her life-long friends and acquaintances. The fund-raising potential of the clubs annual pie party was only limited by the number of sour cream raisin pies Florence could bake. For Florence, Dinner Date was another opportunity for socialization in her later years. Never satisfied to stay at home all day, she was always on the go, attending just about any community event, open house, or other excuse to get out of the house. She traveled extensively in her 70s and 80s, including cruises to Alaska and in the Caribbean, trips to Europe, and bus trips throughout the US. Drop by her house during the day and she was likely to be absent - out gallivanting , as she called it. Florence continued living in her home until December of 2007, when she suffered a fall. The independent woman found adjustment to living in a nursing home difficult, but the staff of Lyon Manor eventually won her over. Only days after a trip to Dinner Date, where she enjoyed wheeling around and hob knobbing with old acquaintances, she suffered a setback from which she did not recover. Florence was preceded in death by her parents, husband Albert, brother Art Hickman, and sisters Esther Ackerman and Bernice Meyer. Survivors include a daughter, Carol Kortanek and companion Mike Frangoulis of Pittsburgh, two sons, Gary (Barbara) and Dennis (Patrice) Patton, both of Rock Rapids, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Blessed Be Her Memory.