Gay Gladys Dills Patton

Mrs. Laurence Ray Patton passed away on Friday, January 16, 2015, in Black Mountain, NC. A 48 year resident of Morganton, NC, Mrs. Patton was 96 years old.
Mrs. Patton was born Gay Gladys Dills on July 29, 1918, to John Floyd Dills, Sr. and Zena Lowery Dills in Nantahala, NC. The eldest of ten children, she met Laurence Ray Patton in Swannanoa, NC. They married two months later, on February 27, 1937. Gay and “Curly” were married nearly 61 years and produced thirty-one offspring in four generations so far. Granny and Papa also provided for countless others over the years.
Mrs. Patton worked with the Girl Scouts of America for 26 years, leading her troops in primitive camping techniques. She was a 4-H Leader as well, and travelled to Washington, DC, as a representative of that organization. Mrs. Patton also served as a commander in the DAV Auxiliary.
Mrs. Patton is survived by her daughters, Patricia Beck Lunsford and Judy Patton Loeffler; her grandchildren, Alice Beck Dixon, Laura Charlene Gillespie (Ron), Laurence H. Beck, Kathe Gay Loeffler, Eric Hans Loeffler (Betsy), Nicholas Patton Loeffler (Shari), and Bryan Laurence Loeffler (Erica); 16 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren; her siblings, John Floyd Dills, Jr., Hazel McMahan, Betty Prebor, and Ellen Buch. Mrs. Patton is preceded in death by her husband Laurence, and five sisters: Angela Dills, Margie Petit, Nora Hutchins, Helen Baynard, and Maxine Douglas.
Funeral will be held at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, January 21, 2015 in the Colonial Chapel of Sossoman Funeral Home with Robert Thomas officiating. Burial will follow at the Patton Family Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.