Vanessa D. Patch
Vanessa D. Patch of Richland Center passed away peacefully in the early morning of Sunday, April 29, 2012 with loving family by her side at the Pine Valley Care Facility. She had been under rehabilitation care for three weeks following surgery for a hip fracture suffered on Palm Sunday, April 1st.
Vanessa was born in Marshall Township on June 6, 1914, the eldest daughter of Willis and Nona Bernice (Peckham) Eckleberry , who preceded her in death, and lived most of her life in Richland Center. Her twin brother and sister , Virgil (Anna Jantz) and Veda (Harold) Sigrist, who were 4 years younger, also predeceased her. Vanessa had lengthy ties to Phoenix, Arizona where her parents had moved in 1934, and where they and her siblings had lived and died. She was married to Bernal Queen Patch on December 8, 1937 in Waukon, Iowa, and their union was blessed with two children Avis Elaine (Frederick Hornick) of Avon Park, Florida and Gary Richard (Jean Soltwedel) of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. Vanessa had worked as a nanny, housekeeper and for many years as a clerk at the J. C. Penney company in Richland Center where she gained many friends and acquaintances.
Survivors include:
her children, Avis and Gary,
grandchildren: Jeffrey (Betsy Mullen) Hornick, Sherwood, Oregon
Wendy (Perry) Kempf, Verona,Wisconsin
Julie Hornick (Dennis Williams, Summerville, South Carolina
Chad (Susan Woelm) Patch of Appleton, Wisconsin
great-grandchildren Cody and Morgan Kempf and Aimee and Daniel Patch
special friend Beth Young, other friends and relatives.
She was also preceded in death by an infant granddaughter Jennifer Leigh Hornick and infant great-granddaughter Kailey Ann Kempf, the triplet sibling of Cody and Morgan.
Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 at the PRATT MEMORIAL CHAPEL. Burial will be in the Fancy Creek Cemetery, Gillingham. Visitation will be held at the PRATT MEMORIAL CHAPEL on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM or on Wednesday morning from 9:00 AM until service time. In lieu of flowers donations may be considered for The American Cancer Society Summerville, SC Relay for Life, Summerville, SC 29483 or Common Threads Autism Resource Center, 5979 Sigglekow Road, Mc Farland, WI 53558 (www.commonthreadsmadison.org). The Pratt Funeral and Cremation Service is assisting the family with arrangements.
