Ruth Smiley Pattinson, age 92, passed away peacefully at the home of her son Roland L Pattinson in Lower Oxford, Pa on 02 June 2022 knowing that she was loved. Ruth was born in Philadelphia on 17 June 1929 to Lawrence D Smiley and his wife Emma C (Wicklein) Smiley. Ruth's father worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad and initially the family lived in Colwyn. In the mid 1930's after her sister was born, Lawrence was transferred to Baltimore, MD and the family lived there for about 4 years. It was here that Ruth made friends with "Shirley" with whom she kept in touch for over 80 years! By 1940, Lawrence had been transferred to Fort Dix, in NJ and the family relocated to Mt. Holly. At this time Ruth was in 7th grade and she forged many strong friendships, including her "best pal" Wilma. When Ruth graduated from Rancocas Regional High School she had one goal in mind: to become a Medical Technologist. She graduated from Temple University in June of 1951 with a B.S. in Medical Technology. While attending Temple Ruth became a member of the Theta Sigma Upsilon sorority. During her career she worked at Princeton where she had the opportunity to meet Dr. Albert Einstein at his home. She also worked at the Fels Research Center; Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital and eventually retired from Crozer-Chester Medical Center in 1986. On 27 July 1953 Ruth married Roland M Pattinson, Jr and together they worked to achieve her 2nd goal in life - to have a family. They were blessed to have three sons who ended up carrying on the family tradition by giving them grandchildren and 2 great- grandchildren.
Ruth loved playing the piano and constantly mentioned how thankful she was that her mother had sent her to the Peabody Institute in MD for piano lessons. She spent many hours amusing herself by playing the piano. Ruth also had a lovely soprano voice and loved singing the old Lutheran standards until her voice changed with age. After she and Roland retired and moved to Millsboro, De., they enjoyed taking cruises. Her favorite cruise was to Alaska, but her most memorable one was around Cape Horn, South America. She was especially proud of her Irish "Smiley" and German "Wicklein" heritage and spent many hours researching, collating and amassing 30 three-ringed binders full of family history. For 30+ years Ruth created amazing Counted Cross Stitch pieces of art. Many a relative or friend has been the recipient of her painstakingly-crafted and beautifully framed artwork. She was a descriptive letter writer; gracious hostess; unfailing friend and confidant, and loving wife and mother. Ruth is survived by her sons Roland (and wife Karen); Joe (and wife Kimmy) and Larry Pattinson. She is also survived by her grandchildren Joyce (husband Mike) Sherick, Michelle (husband James) Grove; Nicholas Pattinson, Lauren Pattinson, Matthew Pattinson and Brittany (wife Jenna) Wong, two great-grandchildren Grant and Presley Sherick, as well as many cherished nieces, nephews and cousins. Ruth was predeceased by her parents Lawrence and Emma, her sister, her husband Roland M, and her granddaughter Laura Pattinson. The family would like to thank everyone at Brandywine Valley Home Health and Hospice for the truly wonderful care they took of Ruth. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to The Laura E Pattinson Memorial Music Scholarship Fund, c/o TRUIST, 275 Limestone Rd., Oxford PA 19363. Arrangements by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc., Oxford, PA. www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com Comments are closed.
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