ARLINGTON -- Patricia Louise Sutton, 80, passed away Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, in Arlington.
Funeral: 11 a.m. Thursday at Wade Family Funeral Home, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Interment: Moore Memorial Gardens, Arlington. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
Pat was born April 29, 1934 in Independence, Mo., to Mr. Alma Kearns, a first-generation son of Irish immigrants, and his wife, Ruth, whose people came from Sweden. Pat grew up with her little sister, Diane, in small-town Butler, Mo., where she helped her parents operate a small motel. Later, in Independence, Mo., she worked at the family's small-town dairy shop and proudly recalled delivering milk to the home of then-Sen. Harry S. Truman.
Pat and her husband, Jim, moved to Arlington in 1966 with their four young children in tow. While Jim worked in box factories, Pat worked as a secretary. She found the wherewithal to go to night school and get her real estate license, becoming a successful local real estate agent for a decade. Beginning in the 1980s, Pat and Jim owned their own box factory, Budget Box of Dallas. In honor of her charity work in later years, Pat was made an Olympic torch-bearer.
Survivors: Husband of 60 years, James Sutton; daughter, Rhonda Massey and husband, Joe; sons, Gregory A. Sutton and wife, Lian, David K. Sutton and James Patrick Sutton and wife, Kathryn; sister, Diane Prather; 12 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and a host of other family and friends.
Wade Family Funeral Home
Arlington, 817-274-9233