Patricia Barnes of Phoenix, passed away January 14, 2021, at the age of 92. Born on September 13, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio as the only child of Clarence Smith and Dorothy Kroeckel.
Patricia's family relocated to Arizona in the nineteen-forties. She attended Tucson High School and the University of Arizona, where she earned her degree in Journalism and was a member of the Alpha Phi Sorority.
In the nineteen-fifties, Patricia worked as a reporter and critic for the Arizona Republic, specializing in the entertainment industry. She interviewed such celebrities of the era as Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, Doris Day, Charlton Heston, and Buster Keaton. After leaving journalism in 1959 to raise a family, she returned in the seventies to serve as editor of The Sun City Citizen. She also wrote articles for Arizona Highways.
Patricia is preceded in death by her husband William G. Barnes. She is survived by her sons William, Stephen (Melissa), Richard, and her five grandchildren. Services will be held privately. Arrangements entrusted to Resthaven/Carr-Tenney Mortuary.
