Gretchen Lewis Patrick

On Oct. 18, 2020, Gretchen Lewis Patrick departed the body that served her quite faithfully for more than nine decades. Experts estimate that she would have lived 32 more years had her sons, Brian and Mike, not worried the bejeebus out of her when they were teens.



Gretchen was born in Lawrenceville, Ill., on Jan. 30, 1928. Lawrenceville was always home, even when she was living elsewhere.



Her life adventures found her residing near, at Mesa Lake outside Mt. Carmel; fairly near, in Marion and Carbondale, where she passed away peacefully in her youngest daughter’s home; in St. Louis, Mo., and Mt. Morris and Normal, Ill.; and far, which included a wonderful stretch of sunshine and good times in Dunedin, Florida.



Gretchen was preceded in death by her former husband, William F. Patrick; by a granddaughter, Erin Stockinger; by a grandson, Jason William Patrick; and by a son-in-law, Ed Loper.



While her primary role was always mother to her five kids, Gretchen’s remunerative talents included beautiful paintings; human resource management for Golden Rule Insurance in Lawrenceville; in economic development for Lawrence County; running her own bed and breakfast, Woodside, in Lawrenceville; ombudsman for Area Agency on Aging; and going back a ways, drawing clothing ads for Roland’s Department Store in Bloomington, Ill. That’s where she initially put to work the skills she’d refined in journalism and art at her alma mater, the University of Illinois.



But it was always about her kids, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. In order of appearance, Gretchen was enormously proud of Susan Loper of Pearl River, Louisiana, Bethany (Bryan) Stockinger of Marion, Michael (Sholeh) Patrick of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Brian (Celia) Patrick of Clearwater, Florida, and Dr. Sarah Patrick of Carbondale.



Her grandchildren include Tim Loper and Abby Clemons; Josh Stockinger; Conor Patrick, Aaron and Elena Johnson; Ben Patrick; and Haley and Alex Ter Haar.



Great-granddaughter Miss Leah Clemons rules the roost in Louisiana and Harper Harrison is winning hearts in Bentonville, Ark. Gretchen’s great-grandsons, Ellis William Patrick of Portsmouth, England, and Onyx Leonard Michael Patrick of Los Angeles, have recently burst onto the scene, and determined to make the world a slightly better or at least more interesting place.



When Gretchen moved her five kids to Lawrenceville in the early 1970s after divorce, the kids basically had it made. Gretchen was known as “that lady who’s always smiling,” and if that wasn’t endorsement enough, she was the daughter of esteemed former local attorney and Judge Philip H. Lewis and his wife, Florence. The Lewis’s had deep roots in Lawrenceville, and with Gretchen going back for her final nap, those roots will run deeper still.



G. Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale is handling arrangements. To leave a story or memory of Gretchen, visit www.meredithfh.com. The family will hold a private memorial at a later date.