Patty LeNoir

Patty Litchfield LeNoir passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children, at her daughter’s home in Tallahassee, FL on March 16, 2014. Patty was preceded in death by her mother, Francis Litchfield and by her husband, Jim LeNoir. She is survived by her sister, Margaret L. Brown; her children, Penny LeNoir (Glenn Lang), Bruister LeNoir (Betty), and Richard LeNoir; her grandchildren, Brandy LeNoir Paternoster (Randy), Joseph LeNoir (Georgia), Jessi LeNoir, Caleb LeNoir (Sarah), Nathan LeNoir, Sophie LeNoir Lang, Joshua LeNoir, Parker B. Lang; and her great grandchildren, Dylan Paternoster and Jadyn Paternoster.

Patty officially entered the world on August 7, 1924. On March 16, 2014, she officially moved on from this world. But neither of those days matters very much when it comes to talking about the life of Patty LeNoir. After all, those are the only two moments in her ninety years of living when Patty didn’t spend fully and freely giving her love to those around her. These words are not to celebrate those moments. These words are to celebrate sunny Mobile Bay, Alabama, and the warm childhood it gave to a big-eyed girl in the 1930’s. These words are to celebrate a love so potent it stopped a young woman midstride on a Montgomery sidewalk, and across hundreds of miles said to her, “Your soldier is back. Jim is home.” It is the very same strength that created and continues to hold together a thriving family. These words are to celebrate a pair of hands that could hold scalding cast-iron and sew a designer dress from memory, hands that played bridge with friends every week for over half a century, hands that were never whole without her wedding ring; hands that were always giving, refusing to take. This time is to celebrate the 315-mile stretch of highway that runs between Auburn University and a certain driveway on Tennessee Street; and the unwavering spirit that turned that stretch of highway into holy ground. So celebrate we will! Today our eyes and ears are raw and ringing from the explosion of life named Patty LeNoir, but in the vacuum of her absence our hearts are drawn together to share, and love, and laugh as she did for so many joyful years. Today the air is wet with tears and memories; we can no longer hold back what we felt for this beautiful person, for no longer is she held back by our laws of blood and oxygen. Today, for the blink of an eye, we are each sad for the loss we feel, for the absence of a voice of love in our lives; but tomorrow we must dry our eyes, because Patty LeNoir is in perfect health. Her body is strong and vibrant, her mind clear and benevolent as it always was here on earth. This we must believe: our good-byes are only temporary. There will forever be a smiling face, and an abounding joy in our hearts where MeeMaw resides until we meet again.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of two recipients: 1) First United Methodist Church of Bolivar/Food for Friends, 218 W Market St., Bolivar, TN 38008, (731) 658-5114; 2) Daughters of the American Revolution, (800) 449-1776 or http://www.dar.org/giving_site/give_now.cfm