Patricia Lorraine Larson ( Holmes, Day, Lane)
January 4, 1934 – December 28, 2010
Although she had led a life that made her strong, the end came too quickly for Patricia to conquer the cancer that ravaged her body. From diagnosis to death was but a mere six weeks. She was unable to muster the strength and energy of her youth.
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While she was attending Ballard High School, Patricia married her sweetheart Dennis Michael (Big Mike) Day. They had three daughters. Pat was active in their elementary school activities including being an adult safety patrol crossing guard near their home. After a dozen years, the couple divorced.
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A few years later Pat married Robert Lane. Their marriage ended when he committed suicide leaving her with two children to raise alone. Her third husband, Ken Larson, adopted the children. And when this marriage ended in divorce, the children were teens.
Children have always been a part of Patricia’s life. She has four surviving children: Leslie Barban, Beverly Johnson, Myrna and Robert Larson; and an estranged daughter, Lori Goebel. She has numerous grandchildren: Vincent (Mike) Weinert, Kitty Everett, Trista Brannen, Tammy Alders, Donovan Parent, Robert Johnson, Jasmine and Shannon Barban, Christina Eberhard, Austin and Clarissa Larson, Christopher and Stephen Galinsky, Allen Momberger, Colleen Larson, Jason Southard, and Shane and April Goebel.
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Pat was proud of her flower garden and could grow roses where no one else would even think possible. People would often pass by her home just to enjoy the fragrant bouquet of her yard. Even when she moved into an apartment, she found space for her flowers, whether it was a parking strip near the street or an unused patch of dirt between the wall and sidewalk. In heaven there must surely be a garden made glad by Pat’s hands.
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Besides gardening, Pat’s hands were kept busy reaching out to the people around her who were less fortunate than she. This was especially true for teens who viewed Pat as the mother they never had. She would lend an ear for their tales, a bed for their bodies and a meal for their hunger. Hers was the door that was always open, always accepting and trusting, no matter who they were or what they may have done or where they had lived before making their way to her home.
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Just as Pat had held her arms open for anyone in need, those of us left behind to mourn her loss, take comfort in the knowledge that the arms of the Lord have opened for Pat. Someday, we will be reunited for the most wonderful group hug of all. Until then, we shall cherish and share our memories of Patricia Lorraine Larson.