Mrs. Patricia A Doubleday

Patricia Ann Sudden Doubleday lived ninety wonderful years. She was her husband Bob's biggest supporter and a wonderful mother to five children.

Patty, or Patsy as she was known to those who knew her as a girl, was born in Santa Barbara, California, at Cottage Hospital in 1933.

Generous in deed and spirit, she took interest in all around her, most often with kind words and encouragement. She could also deliver a gentle but effective admonishment if needed. (Or a swift kick in the behind!)

Mom was a critter whisperer who coaxed a one-footed blue jay to eat grapes from her hand. She named him Jake. She also had a favorite chipmunk, Crook, who would visit her for snacks.

Above all she loved her husband, Robert. They met at pep rally at UCLA in 1950 and that chance meeting changed both their lives. They married in 1954 and had 46 years and five children together.

Bob and Patty were California transplants who adopted Little Rock as home in 1959. Bob worked at KATV where he was the youngest television station manager in the U.S. And Patty was the quintessential hostess at the epic Christmas parties that invariably ended up at the home she lived in for more than 60 years. Even more important, Patty was the foundation of the home they made together. Her biggest delight in the world was her husband, followed closely by all her children. That includes those she birthed and many she "adopted".

The Doubleday's cookie tin was always filled with slice-and-bake chocolate chip cookies, making their home an after-school destination for any number of neighborhood kids.

Patty was predeceased by her husband Bob in 2001 and their oldest child, Jeff in 1956. Her children left to cherish her memory and life lessons: Leslie (Eric) Heizman, Lisa Doubleday, Robert (Peri) Doubleday Jr. and John (Shelly) Doubleday. Her grandkids Ryan Mott, Jordan (Will Nail, IV) Katie Heizman (Noah Webb) and Maren Doubleday are carrying on many family traditions started by their grandmom. She lived long enough to meet her two great-grands, Woodsley June and William Lamar V, also known as Buck.

Patricia was also predeceased by her parents, Robert and Ava Sudden and three brothers, John, William and Charles Sudden.

Patty loved her gardenias, wisteria and camelias and the enormous sweetgum tree that provided shade to their beloved home.

She had an affinity for elephants, because of their matriarchal, multi-generational groups, and the way they protect each other. Elephants never forget, and neither did our mother, always providing the golden thread that tied us all together.

She was the neighborhood canvasser for the March of Dimes, the Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. Like our dad, she deeply loved Arkansas and became an avid fisherman, crappie and bass beware. (She caught more and bigger fish than Dad. It was a source of pride for her!)

Patty loved her Old Granddad cocktails and her Salem 100 Menthols. See's Candies, a staple of her childhood, were also a tradition at our Thanksgiving and Christmas tables.

A special note of thanks to her caregivers, Jennifer, Theresa, Irlee, Shirley, Jeff and Helen. They treated her with love and respect; she shared her wicked sense of humor with them while she remained in the home she loved so well.

Memorials can be made to, Fifty for the Future, the Broadcast Ministries at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, or the Arkansas Nature Conservancy.

A memorial service will be held at Pulaski Heights Methodist Church later this year.

Rest in peace, Momma.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com for the Doubleday family.