Patricia "Patty" Hoebing Leaverton's Obituary
Patricia "Patty" (Hoebing) Leaverton was born on December 31st 1951 in Galesburg, Illinois. Her parents were Bonnie (Lippencott) Hoebing and Raymond Hoebing.
As a child, Patty was studious, quiet, and attentive. She earned excellent grades in school and could be found most nights reading by herself in her bedroom, a trait that lasted her whole life. She doted on her older brother David, and often volunteered to help wash dinner dishes or take on other chores so he could scamper out the kitchen door and find some trouble. Later, it was her younger sister Jan who needed cover.
Patty was a teenager through the infamous 60's, and she understood the assignment. She and her friends spent their weekends cruising the main drag through Galesburg, from the McDonald's to Galesburg Senior High School (Go Silver Streaks!!), usually with carloads of boys chasing them. When she told this story, she always mentioned the book they were going to write about it titled "Three On Our Tail." She was also fond of recalling the horse blanket poncho she wore as a teenager, saying "if it could talk, I'd have to burn it." All that said, she was always sure to clarify she "talked the talk, but never walked the walk". Patty was a 'hippie' in image only. Patty hosted no vice, to a fault, and never cussed. Not even in her head when she would encounter a curse word in a novel.
On September 23rd 1971, Patty married Charles "Chuck" Owen Leaverton of Cleveland, Ohio. Chuck was in the Army, and so began Patty's global adventure. They moved all over the place together, but three places were of special importance. In Painesville, Ohio, Patty gave birth to their first daughter, Tanya Lynne, in 1972. Later, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, their first son Sean David came along. That was 1975. Their youngest son, Eric Lorne, arrived in 1979 while they were living overseas in Frankfurt, Germany.
East Coast, West Coast, Europe, Hawaii, and the midwest, the family moved over and over again. Patty was the consummate domestic goddess, juggling her time between raising her three children, creating intricate macrame wall art and plant hangers, sewing projects, and ironing Army uniforms. She attended every single PTA meeting and volunteered for countless school events. She signed up to chaperone school field trips, riding in the bus with her children and the class to whatever adventure awaited them. She played and sang along, and her kids were never embarrassed by her. She crafted elaborate costumes for Halloween or school plays, and her seamstress skills were unmatched. And if any of those costumes had a strategically placed safety pin because zippers and buttonholes are a PITA, nobody ever said so.
Patty's signature dishes were vegetable stew, chicken and noodles, pot roast, scratch pizza, sauerkraut and dumplin's, and apple salad. She enjoyed making beautiful yogurt parfaits to surprise her children with when they got home from school. She loved to "rescue" Barbie dolls from thrift stores and sew them beautiful gowns and blouses, and her fabric and pattern horde was something to behold.
When her children started to grow up, Patty made her house a home for multitudes. On any given weekend her sons would be hosting friends at the house, who all called her "Mom Leaverton" and loved her with as much ferocity as her children. She welcomed them all as family, making room in her heart and at her table. She altered prom dresses and braided hair and traded recipes.
When her younger sister's health started to fail, Patty shuttled her to doctors appointments and grocery runs, once again stepping in as her siblings protector and caregiver. She kept track of insurance paperwork and sorted medications and arranged for home repairs. She gave of herself over and over and kept nothing back for herself, and Patty never turned away any human or animal who needed care and comfort. Her and her brother took turns leaning on each other as well, supporting one another as best they could and enjoying the good times.
Later in life she made a hobby of collecting things she thought beautiful, and filled her home with carousel horses and little tea sets and owls and fairies and stuffed animals and porcelain dolls and BOOKS OMG the BOOKS. Her favorite authors were John MacDonald, Alistair MacLean, and Jeffery Deaver, but she'd read anything by anyone. When she wasn't reading, she was watching television, and had a special place in her heart for the Highlander TV series and La Femme Nikita. And when it came to music, Patty's absolute favorite was Richard Marx. She could tell you the name of the actors in the "Hazard" music video, and could get from any famous person to Richard Marx within five degrees of separation. Kevin Bacon himself couldn't keep up.
On Wednesday, November 15th, 2023, after a long battle with diabetes and other ailments, Patricia Leaverton finally decided it was time to move on and peaced out. She was surrounded by family and friends, and left peacefully and quietly. Patty was 71 years old.
She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Bonnie and Raymond. She was survived, briefly, by her sister Janice (Hoebing) Anderson, who passed away the next day in much the same way but for unrelated reasons. The family had no idea Janice was also failing.
Patty is also survived by her brother David, by her children Tanya (Steve) Preisch, Sean (Jennifer) Leaverton, and Eric (Carrie) Leaverton, by her grandchildren, Summer (Dustin) Kisner, Alex Hansen, Bridgette and Meredith Leaverton, Jordan and Bailey Preisch, Dallon Stephens, Keith (Brooke) Perkins, Jazmine and Vincent Stowell, and by her great-grandchilden, Corbin, Miles, and Hunter Kisner, and June and Iinà Perkins.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the staff and other residents at Heritage Park Rehabilitation Center in Roy, Utah, and to the staff at McKay Dee Hospital Medical Center and Hospice Services in Ogden, Utah, for all the love, caring, and compassion they've all shown Patricia the last few years.
Services for Patricia will be held on Sunday, November 19th, at Premier Funeral Services in Roy, Utah. The viewing will be at 2pm, and an informal celebration of life at 3pm. Come as you are and all are invited.
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