Edna B. Patton

Edna B. Patton passed away June 8, 2014, at the age of 102 years, three months and 30 days.

She was born Feb. 19, 1912, the sixth of nine children born to Robert Hamilton Burns and Mary Anna Belle Herdman. She had outlived all her brothers and sisters by at least 27 years.

Born about three miles southeast of Locust Grove, in Adams County, she attended the little one-room Black Hollow school, where all the children in her family walked or rode horseback to and from school summer and winter. An excellent student, she learned to read and write very early and was promoted from the second grade to the fourth grade, which enabled her to graduate from Locust Grove High School at 17 years of age.

On June 27, 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression, she was united in marriage with Richard G. Patton, and they were married 57 years until his death Sept. 13, 1990. To this union, one son was born, Robert Patton, of Marshall. Like nearly everyone else, the family struggled to make ends meet during the long recovery from the depression. In the 1930s, they lived in Highland County, near Mt. Olive, where she became a member of the Mt. Olive Church. About 1946, they settled in the Marshall community, and she worked as a receptionist at the Hillsboro Hospital on Chillicothe Pike. She later worked for Dr. Robert G. Claeys in Lynchburg and for the Highland County Department of Human Services until her retirement about 1980.

In her 60s, she decided that she wanted to learn to play the piano. She started taking piano lessons at about 64. Later, she was the pianist in church for several years. In her 70s, she developed an interest in ham radio. She studied for her license, which required an examination on electronic theory. She also passed a test on sending and receiving Morse Code. Even though she had a hearing problem, which became severe later on, she was able to pass the theory and code requirements. While her husband was still living, they took a number of trips to gatherings of amateur radio operators all over the United States.

She was predeceased by her parents; her husband Richard G. Patton on Sept. 13, 1990; and all of her brothers and sisters, Virgil Jennings Burns, Floena Copeland, John Isaiah Burns, Robert Forest Burns, Ada K. Thompson, Richard Dale Burns, Mabel Burns and an infant brother.

She is survived by her son, Bob and daughter-in-law, Joyce, along with her grandsons, Eric and Doug; a brother-in-law, Charles E. Patton, of Tennessee and his wife, Mary Ellen; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, June 21 at the Hillsboro Church of Christ. Friends may call on Friday from 4-7 p.m. at the Turner & Son Funeral Home in Hillsboro. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Marshall Church of Christ or the Hillsboro Church of Christ.

Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.turnerfuneralhomes.cc.