Ruth Marie Setzer

Born on July 7, 1929 to Rosalie Elliott Osborne and John Blount Osborne, Patsy was the youngest of three daughters. At birth, the delivering MD, Dr. Charles Barker named the baby Ruth (as was his usual custom of bestowing his wife's name to female newborns whenever given the opportunity). Unfortunately, baby Ruth's grandmother, Lucy Harper Elliott disliked Dr. Barker and refused to call her granddaughter Ruth. She nicknamed her Patsy and this became her preferred name. Patsy was a lifelong resident of New Bern, NC and her family lived in the Tryon Palace when the stable building (off Eden Street) was renovated into apartments. As a shy child, she happily hid in the shadow of her older sisters Frances Osborne (Henderson) and Verona Osborne (Clark), yet admired and adored both of them.

She graduated from New Bern High School (located then at the corner of Hancock and New Streets ) in 1947. After a year of "pleasant" but uninspiring secretarial work, she applied to nursing school at the North Carolina Baptist Hospital at Bowman Gray Medical School (now Wake Forest School of Medicine) in Winston Salem. Patsy graduated in 1951 and fulfilled her secret childhood dream of becoming a nurse even when she thought it was not financially possible.

Despite other career and romantic proposals, she returned to New Bern and enjoyed a 30+ year career as an operating room nurse at Kafer's, St. Luke's and Craven County hospitals. She delighted in the challenge of "fixing" things at work: surgical instruments, diseased bodies, broken bones and at home: repairing electrical appliances, designing and building a home addition, and creating imaginative, yet impractical solutions for practical problems.

She married her childhood classmate Roy Cornelius Setzer and gave birth to four children. Twin boys were born prematurely and died on Christmas in 1957. Subsequently, John Roy Setzer and Ruth Osborne Setzer were added to the family. Roy and Patsy celebrated more than 50 years of marriage before Roy died in 2009. They were happily devoted to each other and their Heavenly Father.

Patsy was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church in New Bern. Her initial membership was on the nursery cradle roll and she later found her happy place as an adult in the alto section of the Sanctuary choir. She treasured the many friendships founded in the choir loft and enjoyed years of social connection with the "Sing-a-lings" ( a self- described therapy support group that gathered for hours after choir practices on Thursday nights).

Patsy had a talent for small animal training. Always in the company of a pet or adoptive dog (Togo, Mickey, Miss Pris, Tiny, Ginger, Snookie, Sweetie, Beau or Roscoe), she also trained yard squirrels to eat from her hand and raised gerbils with her son John. In later years, she shared her love of bird watching and canine companionship with her dear friend BJ Oglesby.

In addition to her parents, husband, sisters, and twin sons, Patsy is pre-deceased by her third child, John and many of her closest friends. She is survived by her daughter, Ruth (James) Hunt of Macon, GA beloved grandchildren David Hunt (Katie Jones) of Charlotte, NC and Naomi Elizabeth Hunt of New Bern, her daughter-in-law Lori Setzer of North Myrtle Beach, SC and nieces Kathy O'Brien Newsum and Rosalie McClain Henderson.

Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church in New Bern on Wednesday, October 16th. Visitation and viewing will begin at 12 noon in the sanctuary followed by a Celebration of Life at 1pm and graveside ceremony at New Bern Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The First Baptist Church of New Bern (Music Ministry) or a charity of your choice. Cotten Funeral Home & Crematory of New Bern are honored to serve the Setzer family.