During her healthy days, Sunday would have been the day to wake up and get ready for church. It had been some time since she had the freedom that comes with good health.
Last Sunday morning, she did not have to worry about getting ready. She had been doing that for just two months short of 99 years. As her family stood around her bedside singing her favorite hymns, she would pull out the strength to join in the chorus.
The final breath came in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 19, 2009.
Odum, Ga., was where she took her first breath. It was Sept. 19, 1910, the third Monday of the month. Her love for her Lord, family and her church was fostered during her youth. All three became a very solid foundation for her life.
In 1929, she came to Lakeland, Ga., to visit her uncle and aunt while attending South Georgia Women’s College (VSU). He was the sheriff. There was a young deputy that worked for her uncle.
She married the deputy, and he lived to the age of 99 a few days shy of 100. Their marriage that began on Aug. 21,1930, ended 77 years later with his death. A newspaper headline about their 70th anniversary said, “At 70 years, they’ve been married longer than most folks have been alive.”
In a newspaper interview in 2000, he said of his wife, “She had been kind of the head of the operation the whole time.” This caused laughter from his wife. “Wait a minute. He’s the head,” she said, contradicting him.
In the Bible, we are taught the wife should submit to the husband. Many readers stop there without reading the part “as Christ loved the Church.” This couple knew exactly what the Holy Words meant and they lived their lives in total submission to each other. For all who knew her, you were very aware of her country cooking but especially you knew of her pound cake. Every Friday, the cake would appear sometime during the early morning hours and would rarely make it through the weekend. She did this for 60 years until a hospitalization broke the routine.
At the funeral, her children and grandchildren reflected on her life and their grandfather because as they said you could hardly speak of one without mentioning the other. One grandchild said, “the nighttime call from granddaddy that the peas were ready followed by your granny will pick you up at 6:30. You were never asked if you could help ... it was a given.”
Her grave marker will read “Alene O’Quinn Patten, September 19, 1910 - July 19, 2009.” The words read as if there is a beginning and an end but, for nearly 99 years, she left a heart full of memories for her family and friends. This legacy did not die with her. In fact, the memories bring comfort to everyone who was lucky enough to know her as I did. She was my aunt; her husband, J.D., was my mother’s brother.
What We Think
From the publisher: Memories are lasting, as are lessons learned
- What We Think
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Leaving NCLB behind
Georgia schools may be sighing in relief today, following the announcement that the U.S. Department of Education granted a waiver to the state, along with nine others, from the rigorous requirements of the No Child Left Behind act.
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Don’t jettison landmark
While we respect the request to relocate the F-86 aircraft from outside Mathis City Auditorium to the new Moody Air Force Base Airpark, we would hope the city and MAFB would reconsider moving it.
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Shame in Berrien County
Unfortunately for Sherrie Williams of the Berrien County school-based health clinic, she talked to The Times and praised the program that she oversees. This pride in her work led to the loss of her job.
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Grading policy: A second chance?
In clarifying the Lowndes County Schools’ controversial grading policy, Superintendent Dr. Steve Smith spoke of second chances.
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Be up to any weather challenge
Georgia’s Severe Weather Awareness Week starts today and runs through Friday. The idea behind the week is to prepare Georgians for weather emergencies and how to keep these situations from becoming tragedies.
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Parents and schools
There is a lot of talk lately about school systems and grading policies, and how all of a child's problems come back to a lack of parenting. But is it really that simple? Can it be a case where the school systems are so focused on the problem few that the majority of students are ignored?
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Thumbs up, thumbs down
THUMBS UP: To Brooks County High School engineering and technology teacher Don Morgan and his students. They recently received national attention for their work with biodiesel fuel. They collect used cooking oil from area fast-food restaurants then process this oil into biodiesel. Morgan hopes to next interest the Brooks County school buses into running on the fuel created in his class. This classroom not only prepares students for the future but may prepare all of us for an alternative energy source.
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Take me out to the ball park
The Valdosta State baseball season begins today. The Blazers host Lindenwood at 2:30 p.m. Nothing beats quality baseball played in warm weather with a great venue like Billy Grant Field.
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What We Think: Signing Day
Wednesday was National Signing Day, the day when high school athletes across the country make official announcements about what school they’ve chosen to sign with.
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School policy fails expectations
Lowndes County Schools recently implemented new grading guidelines for students. These guidelines have left many parents upset ...
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Leaving NCLB behind
