Vionne "Jean" Patrick

I will miss our hours of sitting on my porch solving the world problems, you were a good neighbor and a great person, YOU will be missed….Al & Family you are in my thoughts and prayers, as the saying goes’ GOD doesn’t always take away your storms…….Sometimes he WALKS you through them’ Know GOD is walking with you now…HUGS to all

Mom and Christopher at Greenville Spartanburg Airport after her visit for my graduation from college.

Mom and Cindy at my wedding rehearsal dinner.

Mom and her children.

Mom and I.

Mom and us kids with Grandpa.

Mom, me, and my two beautiful sisters.

Mom, my first wife and myself after my honeymoon.

Mom’s graduation invitation.

Unfortunately, there was not sufficient time (24 hrs.) for my wife and I to make arrangements to travel from South Carolina to Michigan for mom’s funeral. While this is very disappointing, I am thrilled that I was able to drive up to Michigan last February with my youngest son, and spend an entire week with her when she was still functional. We brought her Valentine’s Day flowers, presents and some doughnuts from Hamilton Home Bakery. She was overwhelmed to see Brandon, as he was a child the last time they met.

As some of you already know, the death of a parent can be a very orienting event. It’s seems an appropriate time to seek a higher vantage point from which to determine where we are “under the sun.”

Occasionally, when we were very young, mom would go to extraordinary lengths to create cakes to celebrate holidays. On a birthday, either Mike’s or mine I think, she made a birthday train cake. There was an engine and a caboose for sure. There might have been a car in the middle also. This amazing cake was encrusted with all manner of candy and colored frosting, and was nothing short of magical, edible art. I almost felt badly about having to destroy it to eat it… almost. Mom knew the value of creating treasured memories for her children. I’m very thankful for this.

One of the lasting gifts mom gave us was the gift of music. She was rarely without a keyboard so it was common for melody to fill our home. As children, we’d stand around her old upright piano and ask her to play Elephant Walk, Alley Cat and dozens of others while we did the silly dances she taught us for each one.

One particular Christmas, I had been gifted a really sharp pair of cowboy boots. Mom was playing her piano, and I was behind her tap dancing my heart out. Oddly, I don’t remember getting in any trouble for skuffing up the hard-wood floor. But I had a peppermint pinwheel in my mouth. At one point I gasped it down into my windpipe. After a few very long seconds, I realized this was going to be a problem. With some difficulty I was finally able to dislodge it. I remember it shattered when it hit the floor and dispersed harmlessly under the piano. Mom was still playing. I went back to the joyful dance.

Another Christmas, years later, mom played at the V.F.W. It was a kid oriented event, so we got to go. She lead the considerably large audience in singing Christmas Carols. I remember feeling so proud that she was my mom.

I have learned how to express myself through music because of mom. Two of my three sons have learned how to express themselves through music because of mom. Her love of music is a living legacy for which I am very thankful.

Last, but certainly not least, mom was a talented seamstress. She made clothes for all us kids and herself. There was one particular outfit that stands out from among the others. It was the early 70’s. I was about into graduate to Saginaw High from Webber Jr. High. Mom was encouraging me to go to the Jr. prom. I was painfully self-conscious because I was extremely thin, and white. I didn’t think any good thing could come from me going to the prom. She said she’d make a cool outfit for me to wear if I’d go. My childhood best friend, Dan Ornelas, had given me a pair of his platform shoes, and mom created the outfit to go with them.

At this time in my life, I owned a baby blue Gibson Kalamazoo electric guitar. I couldn’t play it very well, but I knew my cool prom outfit needed to match. Mom made it happen. Nobody in Saginaw, let alone my Jr. prom, had an outfit like the one my mom made for me. I still have it. I’m very thankful to have had a mom who would go to such lengths to encourage me to engage when I really didn’t feel like it.

It’s not uncommon for kind, compassionate people to discuss the passing of another’s loved one by saying things like “He lost his mom last May,” or “Losing her mom really took a toll on her.” While we have all suffered terrible loss with mom’s passing, please don’t think mom is lost. I know exactly where she is. She made a crystal clear confession of faith in Jes

Williamson and Owen backyard.

Mom and Brandon last February.

Saved as a favorite, I like your website!