Obituary of Patricia Ann Worthington Graham ~ 2012
Patricia W. Graham, 77
WALLACE — On Monday evening, March 27, 2012, Patricia Ann Worthington
Graham died peacefully surrounded by her beloved husband and three
daughters at Vidant Duplin Hospital in Kenansville, following an 18 month
battle with breast cancer.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday March 29, at First
Baptist Church of Wallace.
The family received friends at Padgett Funeral Home Wednesday from 6 to 8
p.m.
She was born to Earl Arthur and Hazel Maine (Ervin) Worthington in Kinston
on April 25, 1934. Her father suffered a massive stroke shortly after her
birth, requiring her mother to work outside the home. At a very young age,
Pat contracted pneumonia. Her aunt and uncle, Lida and Norman Brant Hill,
volunteered to take her for medical treatment in Fayetteville. She
continued to live with her Aunt Lida and Uncle Brant, who loved and cared
for her as their own for the remainder of their lives.
She grew up in Roseboro, where she enjoyed a privileged life, known in the
community as “Pat Hill” and where she was dear in the hearts of all who
knew her. She was a precious and adorable little girl who always dressed
well and had a sunshine personality which she carried into her adult life.
Under the loving, yet strict, tutelage of her Aunt Lida, she learned about
Southern hospitality, cooking, dancing, and being a lady.
She attended the Methodist Church where she sang in the church choir and
met her future husband. She graduated from Roseboro High School in May
1951. During high school, she was involved in the Glee Club and Yearbook
Club. During the summers, she worked in the office at Hill Spinning Co.,
owned by her Uncle Brant, where she did the payroll and used her
organization skills to keep things straight and orderly.
Following high school, she planned to attend Meredith College in Raleigh,
but those plans were changed when she married Leon Irvin Graham, also of
Roseboro, on Sept. 29, 1951.
Her early married weeks were spent at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio,
Texas, where her groom completed Assistant Battalion Aid School just prior
to being deployed to Korea. For the next 16 months she lived in Roseboro,
where she worked at Hill Spinning Co., Hill Motor Company, and First
Citizens Bank, until her husband Irvin, returned from Korea. She saved her
husband’s military pay which became the seed money for opening Graham Drug
Co. in Wallace.
In October 1953, she and her husband moved to Wallace where she threw
herself into a life of loving and supporting her husband. They had three
daughters, Pamela Ann on Feb. 4, 1954, Ginny Lynn on April 3, 1956, and
Sandra Irvin on July 10, 1957. Their proudest accomplishments as parents
included their daughters becoming Christians, playing the piano and
graduating from college. Pamela Ann graduated from UNC-Greensboro and
UNC-Chapel Hill, Ginny Lynn from Appalachian State University, and Sandra
Irvin from Meredith College.
She devoted her life to her family, home and church. She managed the
household in a manner that appeared effortless; attended to the needs of
her three active daughters; and supported her husband’s interests. She
served her church on various committees and roles including Church
Treasurer, Grounds, Cradle Roll, Vacation Bible School, Circle Chairman,
and church hostess; her community on the Duplin County Hall of Fame
Committee for 11 years, and Duplin County 250th Birthday committee; and
the Daughters of the American Revolution as Chapter Regent, State
Committee Chairman for Seimes Microfilm, National Defense, Centennial
Jubilee and President General’s Project; enjoyed golf, playing bridge,
needle work, and reading; and is especially well known for her baking,
sharing this gift with others, and watching over her little “ole” ladies.
Her greatest joy in the world were her husband, Irvin, their three
daughters, five grandchildren, one great grandson, and five Dachshunds,
all named Fella.
Patricia was predeceased by her aunt and uncle, Norman Brant and Lida
(Worthington) Hill of Roseboro, and her parents, Earl Arthur and Hazel
Maine (Ervin) Worthington of Kinston.
She is survived by her husband and “the great love of her life” for 60
years, Leon Irvin Graham; three daughters, Pamela Ann Graham-Wilson and
husband, Kevin M. Wilson of Wilmington, Ginny Lynn G. Bottenus of
Darlington, S.C., and Sandra Irvin G. Cagle and husband, Charles (Chuck)
of Franklin, Tenn.; five grandchildren, Brandon Jerome Graham (Danielle),
Seaside, Ore., John Daniel Brooks (Suzanne), Portland, Ore., Mary
Katherine Pope, Greenville, Kevin Graham Wilson, Wilmington, and David
Rankin Wilson, Wilmington; one beautiful great-grandson, Bynum Gable
Brooks of Portland, Ore.; and her sister, Peggy Webb Northcott of Sun City
Center, Fla.
In celebration of her life and in lieu of flowers, the family requests
contribution to the L. Irvin and Patricia W Graham Scholarship Fund in
Community Pharmacy with the Pharmacy Foundation at the Eschelman School of
Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.or a favorite
charity.
To sign the guest book, go to www.padgettfuneralhome.net.
A service of Padgett Funeral and Cremation Service, Wallace.
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