Obituary of Anita J. Patterson

LEXINGTON, SC - Anita Dell Jones Patterson, 84, of Lexington, South Carolina, passed away on January 18, 2024.  Born April 14, 1939 in Walterboro, South Carolina, of the late Captain Curtis C. Jones, Retired USNR and the late Alice Adelaide C. Lobocki.   

Services will be held at First Baptist Church of Columbia, Boyce Chapel, on Tuesday, January 23rd at 11:30 A.M. Burial to immediately follow at Greenlawn Memorial Park, Columbia, SC. Visitation will be held on January 22nd, from 5-7pm at Thompson Funeral Home, in Lexington, SC.

Anita is survived by her brothers, Curtis C. Jones, Jr. (Elaine) of Palos Verdes Estates, California, John Wells Jones (Kaye) of Felda, Florida; sister, Carol J. Landreth of West Columbia, South Carolina; and three children, Richard A. Patterson, Jr. of Lexington, South Carolina, William Glenn Patterson (Ruth) of Blythewood, South Carolina, and Virginia L. Duvall (Mike) of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She is also survived by nine grandchildren, Joshua Patterson, Andrea Patterson, Erin Patterson, Drew  Patterson (Kate), Rachel Dotter (Devin), Laney  Patterson (Phil), Mark Patterson, Naomi Duvall, Benjamin Duvall and seven great grandchildren, Lauraina Brock,  Shiloh Patterson, Elijah Patterson, Serena Patterson, Clark Patterson, Grant Patterson and John Patterson.

Anita was a graduate of Dreher High School in 1957, and attended the University of South Carolina as a Biology major. She began her career in Columbia, SC working for Southern Bell and retired after 33 years of service from AT&T in Atlanta, GA after her work on divestiture in the early 80’s. While still in Columbia, Anita volunteered as a Den Mother to Pack 301 and taught Sunday School at Covenant Presbyterian Church.  

After retirement, Anita enjoyed the outdoors by bird watching, hiking, and gardening. Her fondest memories are the friends she made during her volunteer work at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and the Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston, SC.  Shortly after Ukraine’s independence, she volunteered her time on a mission trip to Odessa in 1995. After assisting her father with the publication of the Jones genealogy, Anita completed her research and collection of her family’s history.

Anita was a devoted daughter, sister, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Her favorite pastime was spending time with her children, grand and great grandchildren who she loved dearly. Anita volunteered her time at her grand & great grandchildren’s schools, as well as offering her time to any child for reading and tutoring if there was a need.  Her greatest legacy, was the love and the care that she willingly bestowed to all of her family throughout her life.

The family would like to send a special thanks to Dr. Steven Minter & Phillip of SC Oncology and all of the nurses, Kerturah and Katharine at Amedisys Hospice for their loving care of Mom and the family during a very difficult time.