Elizabeth "Betty Sue" Patton

Elizabeth “Betty Sue” Patton, 88, of Morganton, NC died February 18, 2015.  She was born in Burke County on December 9, 1926, the only child of the late John Henry Gaston and Frances Fleming Gaston.  Mrs. Patton graduated from Morganton High School and attended Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA.  She worked at Grace Hospital where she met her first husband, Dr. Beverly Dew Hairfield.  They were married for forty-six years until he passed away in 1995.  In 2001 she married Frank Patton.  Together they traveled a lot, enjoyed the Linville home in the summer and moved to Grace Ridge in 2008.

Betty Sue was an active member of First United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday school, helped start the Altar Guild in 1972, and served on the Administrative Board.  She was also a member of the Historic Burke Foundation Board, was a Girl Scout leader for 7 years, a member of the Morganton Service League, served on the board of the Community Concert Association, served on the Grace Hospital Board of Trustees, and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Betty Sue is survived by her husband, Frank Patton, two children, Frances Taylor Hairfield and Nancy Hairfield Sharp and her husband, L. Spencer Sharp, Jr.; grandsons, Doug Hairfield and his wife, Mary Ann, John Gaston Hairfield, and Zackery Sharp; great-granddaughters, Annabelle and Parker Hairfield.

In addition to her parents and first husband, Betty Sue was preceded in death by a son, Beverly Dew Hairfield, Jr.

The memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Grace Ridge Retirement Community with Dr. John Fowler officiating.  The family will receive friends following the service.

Memorial contributions may be made to Burke Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc, 1721 Enon Road, Valdese, NC 28690.

Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.  Condolences may be made online at www.sossomanfuneralservice.com.