Mrs. Patricia Ruth Edwards

On February 17, 2024, at her home in The Estates at Carpenters, Lakeland, Fla., Patricia Ruth Edwards entered into eternal life after an earthly journey of great faith, courage, resilience, kindness and compassion. She stared down the face of cancer three times. In the end, it was COVID-19 that helped carry her home to the Lord. Born on May 27, 1933, in Peoria, Illinois to Ruth Alena Matthews and James H. Mann, Patt was the oldest of seven children. After graduating from the Academy of Our Lady in 1951, Patt worked as a dietician at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria. She married and had three daughters. Patt reinvented herself many times over the years showing her adaptability, creativity, ingenuity and thriftiness. After years juggling work and raising young girls as a single mom, she moved to Ft. Lauderdale, FL in 1967 with her husband, Richard Peterson, to start a new adventure. She translated her lifelong love of sewing into starting her own dress shop, Patti’s Elite Boutique. It was a small venture that was just perfect for Patt and her clientele, including a budding tennis star, Chris Evert. Patt made some of the tennis outfits she wore. The family moved to Plant City, Fla., in 1971, and Patt embraced her new community. She was active in the Eastern Star (Worthy Matron), Plant City Women’s Club, Garden Club, East Hillsborough Historical Society, Daughters of the American Revolution and the First United Methodist Church. A debilitating medical condition left her husband bedbound for many years. Again, Patt shifted her focus and in addition to being a full-time caregiver, earned money using her great skill of chocolate-making to create the most beautiful and delicious Easter eggs and other holiday favorites that she sold to Maas Brothers for retail sales. After Richard’s death in 1985, Patt had a brief career in home healthcare, which is how she met her beloved Bob Edwards. In between spending time with their blended family and enjoying their grandchildren and great-grandchildren, they travelled extensively domestically and abroad with Patt always keeping copious notes and photo albums. She had an incredible ability to mentally calculate and used that gift to “count cards” and run the table in the game of Hearts, leaving her competitors stunned. Patt volunteered extensively at the church. She was an amazing cook and shared that talent by preparing meals for hundreds of people attending church functions. She produced and published inspirational booklets for homebound church members. She also made clothing for special needs children at a local elementary school and baked goodies for her hallmates at Carpenters. She was predeceased by her husband Richard Peterson (1985) and her husband Robert S. Edwards (2019), her sisters Eleanor (Cookie) Luna, Helen Scherrer, Marty Jones, her brother Elwood Lawrence Mann, daughters Robbie Ann Lea and Clare Hicks. She is survived by her siblings Sally (Jerry) Pritchard and Bill Mann, children Barbara Morris, Lynne Ann Bisceglia (Craig), Nancy Slagle (Bill), Lynn Simeone (Damon), Kay Brown (Jim), Bobby and Brian (Annmarie) Edwards, Kathie Peterson Baerns, son-in-law Tim Hicks and daughter-in-law Sara Edwards. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Michael and Christopher Morris, Shannon Innes, Trisha George, Brian Lewis, Michael and Amy Bisceglia, Lianne Lapierre, Casey, Courtney and Parker Slagle, Carrie and Jared Sullivan, Courtney Klein, Michael Peacock, Emily, Christen and Hilary Buckler, Philip, Katie, Patrick, Matt and Teresa Edwards, 24 great-grandchildren and countless nieces and nephews. The family will receive family and friends on Saturday February 24, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Hopewell Memorial Gardens, 6005 South County Road 39 Plant City, FL 33567, where services will be held at 11 a.m. Services will be livestreamed at www.Facebook.com/HopewellFuneral Interment at Hopewell Memorial Gardens. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory at the American Cancer Society at https://raiseyourway.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.personalCampaign&participantID=12588. Expressions of condolences at www.HopewellFuneral.com.

Mrs. Patricia Ruth Edwards

May 27, 1933 - February 17, 2024

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Mrs. Patricia Ruth Edwards

May 27, 1933 - February 17, 2024

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