Patricia T. Smith

On June 1 at 6 AM, our precious Patricia Anne Tucker Smith passed away in the loving arms of her husband at Hospice of South Texas. The fight she put up against a very aggressive form of colon cancer typifies the type of woman, wife, and mother that we knew.

Patty was an accomplished genealogist/historian. She loved and disliked obituaries. She had a lifelong passion to learn and the genealogist in her loved the information that could be gained from obituaries dealing with family ties and their lineage. However, she disliked most obituaries as they are full of generalizations and platitudes that offer nothing about the person. Hopefully she will approve of this one.

Patricia Anne “Patty” Tucker was born on Jan 2, 1947 in Charleston, SC, to Ferrel Ray “Tom” Tucker, US Navy, BMCM of Hopkinsville, KY and Anna Irene Holiat/Holyat of Yonkers, NY. Her Father's naval career brought her to Norfolk, VA, Jeffersonville, IN, Charleston, SC, and Kingsville, TX. While in Kingsville she attended Texas A&I University, graduating in 1969, with honors, with a degree in Education. She also met her husband, Randy, in Kingsville and they married on Dec. 23, 1970 at the Kingsville Naval Air Station Chapel.

As an elementary school teacher for second through fourth grade, in Kingsville and Portland, TX, Patty taught with a gentle heart. One of the greatest things she did was captivate the student’s hearts as well as their minds. Her passion for genealogy had her spending thousands of hours poring over vast collections of data and documents. A teacher at heart, she not only learned her family’s lineage but helped many other people in searches for relatives and information. Reading was another passion. You would find her reading anything from a novel to a cookbook or some general history to fulfill her quest to learn. If she opened it, she would not put it down until she finished reading it. If that meant staying up all night, she would.

It’s our hope to master one thing in our life, Patty mastered almost everything she attempted. She was a gifted gardener; spending hours in her garden and greenhouse tending to her orchids and multitude of other plants and flowers. It wasn’t uncommon to find her having a spirited conversation with them. In the kitchen, she could crank out breads, made from scratch, that were legendary. If she wasn’t making memorable breads, she had yarn in hand knitting and crocheting afghans, shawls, ponchos, blankets, doilies, and washcloths. She could write in calligraphy that astounded anyone that saw it. Her work was featured on many wedding invitations and presentation pieces. Her favorite season was Christmas. There was never a time, year-round, when at least one Christmas tree was up somewhere in the house

As wonderful and beautiful as Patty was during her life, one of her best qualities is that she never saw herself as anyone special and never sought attention. Her natural beauty radiated from her. She loved her family, children, animals and plants. While she loved playing video games with her children and grandchildren, she was not a fan of crowds or loud noises. Preferring the serenity of her reading-crafting room, often listening to Vivaldi and Mozart, or Hall & Oates and Jason Mraz. This serenity helped her cope with her hereditary mild Asperger’s and chronic heart condition, SVT.

Patty is survived by her husband of 50 years, Roy R. “Randy” Smith of Victoria, TX. She is also survived by her daughter, Valerie Smith of Victoria, TX, son, Patrick Smith and his wife Kimberly of Porter, TX, and son, Mike Bridges and his wife Kenna of Dothan, AL. Her grandchildren include Alexander, Kiera and Kamber all of Porter, TX, Michael, Jacob and Zachary of Victoria, TX and Michael, of Dothan, AL. She is also survived by her sister Dorothy Mladenka, her partner David Williams and her daughter Elizabeth Mladenka of Houston, TX, her brother-in-law and his wife, TR and Sharon Smith of Victoria, TX. Surviving cousins include Cathy Cara, Joan Sommer, Ed Turenchalk all of upstate New York, Greg and Billie Turenchalk of Florida, Roberta Patrick and David Tucker of Kentucky and Andrea Wnuk of Indiana.

We can all learn from one of her favorite phrases, “Never lie about anything and you’ll never have to worry about getting caught.” She was truly an amazing woman, mother, wife, and friend to all that knew her.