Sam Creasman
Ms. Rogers passed away on 12/28/19. She had fallen back in the Fall and suffered a broken hip and underwent total hip replacement surgery. Her husband of almost 60 years left her 7 years ago and all of her children live in other cities/other states and so she went to stay at an Assisted Living Facility there in her home town of Kingsport. While there she underwent physical therapy and rehabilitation and made good progress. Just before Thanksgiving she returned to her room from physical therapy and lost her balance moving from the wheelchair to the bed and fell. She fractured her pelvis and fractured the other hip and cracked a couple of ribs. After undergoing surgery to replace the second hip, she remained at the Facility and restarted the physical therapy process for the 2nd hip. Unfortunately her body, at age 87, said, “No so fast” and really began to slow down. Then the real problems began and she suffered a stroke before Christmas, but seemed to recover quickly.
Unfortunately she suffered a 2nd stroke on Christmas Day.
The Lord called her home to be with her husband, Robert, on Saturday after Christmas. This lady was my Ex Mother-in-Law. I married her oldest daughter. Her parents moved the family from Birmingham, AL to Kingsport after WWII for work and sent their 3 daughters to Dobyns-Bennett HS. Patsy and Robert were high school sweethearts and married right after graduation, bought a house in the Fort Robinson community not far from where my Mom & Dad later bought a house, and set about raising a family - 2 daughters and 2 sons. Robert was a successful business man, owning a Service Station (in a time when they were Service Stations not just a gas station) and later an Auto Parts store that he started from scratch. Through it all, Patsy was by his side, keeping the books, doing payroll, and handling the paperwork, all the while being a Mom to 4 kids (and occasionally a 5th - me).
The standing complaint and/or joke among men is a “Terrible Mother-in-Law”. The staple of comedians for years. If there was ever a perfect mother-in-law, Patsy was it. She opened her heart to me and welcomed me into her family and into her home. She was always there when I needed her and helped me when no one else would. I loved her like my own Mother. She was a wife, a mother, a confidant and a friend. She was a life long companion to her husband in their journey thru life as their kids grew, went to college, moved out, married and had kids (grandkids). I remember being at their house once for dinner. Patsy was a good cook, but just did not like to cook. Subsequently she looked for shortcuts where ever she could. I was running my mouth about how I could not stand instant foods and did not know why people used the instant food mixes, when Patsy turned and gave me that "Look" that would make water freeze and said, "Those mashed potatoes are instant potatoes that I doctored with some extra milk and butter". I was smart enough to allow how they tasted great and did not make that mistake again.
Patsy walked all of her days of her life with the Lord.
The loss is great and the pain is deep.
I am buoyed by the fact that all of her children came home at Christmas and were with her. Her youngest son was with her when she passed.
God speed Patsy.
