Obituary of Patsy June Adams Walker Bennett

Patsy June Adams Walker Bennett passed away peacefully on April 28, 2014 blessed with a long and fruitful life that she enjoyed immensely. She loved her work, and she loved her special ed kids. She adored her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And she loved her friends. Many years ago, Patsy said she wanted her Honorary Pallbearers to be women. They are Patsy Bolton, Mary Cable, Nell Furney, Linda Bennett, Shirley Moore, Sharron Rainey, Shelley McDowell, Colette Stepp, Lillian Thompson, Dorothy Nichols, and all of her longstanding "buds". Patsy was a woman with a lot of style and some swagger. Decorating her homes was a joyful passion for her; she enjoyed dressing up, being creative, and she was a good cook –cooking for her children and grandchildren and sometimes telling us it was time to go to our own homes. Patsy was born January 26, 1930 at home on Blake Corner in the Russell, Oklahoma community to Courtes Sylvester Adams and Tiny Rebecca Davidson Adams. She was an only child growing up on a cotton and wheat farm. She attended Centralvue community school, graduating as valedictorian and then attended Oklahoma A&M in Stillwater. She was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and met Wes Walker a Farm House Fraternity student from Freedom, Oklahoma. They married in 1951 and moved to the ranch on the Cimarron River where Valorie and Clay were born. Their small home was pretty far from the main road, and it was a pretty exciting trip to go to Alva to the movie. Because the horrible drought of the early 50's took a terrible toll on the ranching business Wes went to work for an oil company and they moved to Hobbs, New Mexico and later Odessa, Texas where Kirk was born. Eventually Patsy and the kids moved back to Weatherford, Oklahoma. Patsy attended Northwestern Oklahoma College to finish her education. She became a teacher in Lawton, Oklahoma. She and Wes divorced. On a trip to East Texas to visit cousins, Patsy met J.D. (Jugger) Bennett. They married in Lawton and eventually moved to Sulphur Springs. Patsy attended E.T.S.C. taking Texas history and government to become eligible to teach in Texas and continued her education to receive a Masters of Education and more certifications. She began her career at Travis Elementary teaching one of two special education classes in the whole district at that time. As that path expanded she moved up and became the Special Ed Director, one of the first women administrators of SSISD. She loved her job and year after year at budget time fought for her special kids. Her loyalty and dedication to her profession led to her developing life-long friendships with many of her students and their families. She loved all of the staffs that she worked with and made a great effort to promote a positive work atmosphere for everyone. Her school name was P. Bennett. P. Bennett and all of the staff worked very hard and also had good times. P. Bennett loved to take trips and she took many—had great times and did funny things. She traveled with dear friends who had very entertaining stories to tell about the funny things she did. Patsy June Adams Walker Bennett was preceded in death by her son Kirk Adam Walker—“the Baby” and husband Jugger Bennett. She is survived by her daughter Valorie (Vali) Walker Brannon and husband Bill, her son Clay Walker and wife Peggy, daughter-in-law Rhonda Walker; Grandsons: Cort Walker, Adam King and wife Kim, Blake Rhodes, Patrick Rhodes and wife Sally; Granddaughters: Valerie Skinner and husband Andrew, Jennifer Reed and Chris, and Shelley Wolfe; Great Grandchildren: Holton and Weston King, Zoe Reed, Maddie, Walker, and Arden Wolfe, and nieces: Judy Mills, Kathy Lambert, and Diana Collins. Love is not what makes the world go round—It is what makes the ride worthwhile, and Patsy had a great ride! Memorial contributions can be made to Special Olympics of Texas, www.sotx.com or mailed to Special Olympics of Texas, 7715 Chevy Chase Dr., Austin, Texas 78752 or the Business office of SSISD. Funeral service will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Friday, May 2, 2014 at the League Street Church of Christ with Rev. Phil Tipton officiating. Interment will follow at Sulphur Springs City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, May 1, 2014 at West Oaks Funeral Home. Arrangements are under the direction of West Oaks Funeral Home. www.westoaksfuneralhome.com