Obituary of Patsy Jean Alkire

Patsy Jean Alkire, 74, of Ardmore, Okla., was a loving, joyous, humorous, loyal, sweet soul who departed this life on July 6, 2016, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Private family services are planned for a later date. Patsy aka “Pat” was born in Dallas, Texas, on November 9, 1941, to Eugene Carl “Gene” and Mary Elizabeth “Little Joe” Sosebee. She married Max Alkire in 1968 after only knowing him for a couple of months, but that act of spontaneity lasted for 48 years. She was a member of the Emmanuel Baptist Church. She worked as a legal assistant for many years in Ardmore. Patsy was a vivacious reader and loved the arts. Sadly, she was not culinary gifted and often cooked all food to rubbery consistency. However, she could make a mean beef stroganoff and a loving cup of hot chocolate at bedtime. Patsy loved to decorate her home and was obsessed with African Art and animal faux fabric. She is the only person known to have a leopard Christmas tree 25 years ago. Yes, it was beautiful. Patsy’s absolute love was quilting. She devoted many hours to her craft, and donated many quilts to help those in need including Quilts of Valor, quilts for the children’s shelter, quilts for children’s hospital, and most recently, was working on donating quilts for pediatric cancer centers. When she was in Houston at MD Anderson, after receiving lousy news, she wiped her tears and then, before leaving, inquired who she could contact to donate quilts for the patients. Her loving spirit never faltered, even when she was down. Patsy used her love of quilting to help many charities and make new friends. Though she had many good friends whom she loved and adored, there was a particular friend with whom she shared many memories. Her bestie, Chris, loved quilting too, and they shared many years together traveling to quilt shops, shows, and working on quilting projects together. It was not unusual for Patsy and Chris to have a pot of soup simmering while they multitasked by working on a quilting project and solving the latest global issues. If a good fabric sale was going on, all the grandkids were dragged to the occasion. Every single one of those children is very knowledgeable on the topic of textiles. Their friendship was a great joy to Patsy, and when she became too sick to quilt, Chris stayed by her friend’s side and talked quilt stuff – for hours. Those girls loved their craft! Patsy was blessed with one daughter, but she had really wished for a boy, and to her dismay, the daughter could not sew a stitch, but thankfully was able to cook. Despite the boy and sewing issues, they loved each other endlessly. Her greatest joy was the relationship she shared with her grandson, Spencer. When Spencer was little, she often told him that he was her favorite grandchild which made him beam. Later, Spencer realized he was the only grandchild. She made a quilt for every special event in his life, and he now holds a treasure of memories with quilts made from his proud grandma honoring his accomplishments. She was able to take a few cruises, and her favorite was the Alaskan cruise. In the wilds of Alaska, she managed to sniff out a quilt shop, and thus another theme quilt was born. Patsy loved dogs, and named them after her favorite perfumes, Giorgio, Estee, Channel, but the chain was broken when Max was allowed to pick a name and hence Missy joined the family. Patsy has been described by friends as a magnificent soul with an infectious laugh, generous to a fault (ask her spoiled grandson or daughter), possessed a keen wit, good friend, devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who will be missed every day. Patsy is survived by her husband, Max Alkire, a daughter, Dr. April Marie Morris and her husband, Michael, and a very special “favorite” grandson, Spencer Morris, of Dallas; brother, Danny Joe Sosebee, of California; sisters, Mary Linda Walker of Dallas, Charlotte Ann Sampson of South Dakota, Debra Kay Vidaillet of Wisconsin. In lieu of flowers, family asks that donations be made to the pancan.org who assist other brave pancreatic cancer patients in education, guidance, research and clinical trials, or local donations to Cross Timbers Hospice of Ardmore, a nonprofit organization that assisted Patsy to her new journey with comfort and dignity – we are forever grateful.