Patricia Hutson

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Patsy Hutson
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    Patricia Ruth Weiland Hutson of Tupelo, Miss., died Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, at the Sanctuary Hospice House.
    Born Jan. 4, 1926, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Dr. Arthur Herman Weiland and Ruth Elaine Clayton Weiland, the family moved to Coral Gables, Fla., when she was 4 months old.
    Patsy grew up in Coral Gables, attended Miami High School and then Duke University, where she majored in sociology and was a Kappa Delta.
    During high school, she met Thomas Woodward Hutson Jr. at the Biltmore pool. A medical student on break from the University of Florida, his parents were also part of the Miami medical community and their parents knew each other. On their first date Tom knew she was the one, and she came home with his class ring, which her mother promptly made her return.  They were engaged a few years later and married in 1948 upon her graduation from Duke.
    Patsy and Tom had four children. Thomas W. Hutson III (Lisa) of Concord, Calif., Patricia Ruth Hutson of Oroville, Calif., Arthur Weiland Hutson (Denise) of Anderson, S.C., and Mary Elizabeth Hutson Davidson (Todd) of Tupelo, Miss. They resided in Coral Gables surrounded by a large loving family of parents, sisters and brothers.
    Patsy served many charitable philanthropies including Junior Auxiliary, PEO Sisterhood, DAR and was active in her children’s PTA. She was a registered Girl Scout for 60 years and served as a troop leader and in many other capacities for the Florida and North Carolina Scout districts.
    She enjoyed gardening, hunting, fishing and especially golfing. They retired to Western North Carolina and spent their time curating an extensive garden at their home. She volunteered for the Girl Scouts and served as a Guardian ad Litem for the North Carolina court system. She enjoyed taking classes at John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. She was proficient at weaving, stained glass, basketry and other folk arts.
    By this time Patsy had many grandchildren, 14 in all, and enjoyed their visits to the mountains. Patsy enjoyed whitewater rafting, train excursions and playing bingo with the grandchildren during these visits. She also participated in the North Carolina Senior Olympics in golf, where she advanced to the National Senior Olympics three times, once finishing fourth in her age group nationally.
    Patsy was a colon cancer survivor and at age 78, she and Tom left their beloved mountain home to move to Tupelo, Miss., to be near their youngest daughter and grandchildren. She continued to play golf, and Patsy and Tom were featured in the local paper for the landscaping and gardening improvements they made at their home in The Villages. Tom said she bought the plants and his job was to plant them.
    Three years ago, just shy of their 69th wedding anniversary, Patsy lost Tom. She continued to live in their home with their beloved Yorkie, Yogi, and keep up their garden. She looked forward to visits from family and friends, and a golf outing was always welcome.
    In the last six months, age began to take its toll, and Patsy went to live with her youngest daughter and son-in-law.
    She had a deep and abiding faith in God, and she was very supportive of the Helping Hands food and clothing ministry at First United Methodist Church in Tupelo.
    A celebration of life service was held Friday, Oct. 30, at First United Methodist Church.
    Patsy and Tom’s ashes will be interred at Stoney Creek Cemetery, Sheldon, S.C., in the family plot in the spring.
    In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to First United Methodist Church marked “Helping Hands,” P.O. Box 854, Tupelo, MS 38802; or to Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38802.
    Expressions of sympathy may be left at peguesfuneralhome.com.
    W.E. Pegues Funeral Directors was entrusted with the arrangements.