Patricia Sue Clifford

PATRICIA SUE (HAMLIN) CLIFFORD Patricia Sue (Hamlin) Clifford was born June 27, 1925 in Woodward, Oklahoma and died on January 5, 2012 in Winner, South Dakota. She was the eighth of 13 children born to Edgar and Mary Hamlin in the dust bowl and depression era of Oklahoma. The family worked and played together to make it through those hard times. She told stories of walking three miles to school and playing with her brothers and sisters. She married George W. (Joe) Clifford of Copan, Ok. on December 15, 1945. Joe served in the Pacific in the US Navy during WWII. When the war ended Pat and Joe moved to Gillette, Wyoming where Joe worked on a seismograph crew. Their first son, James Wendell was born in Sheridan, Wy. in 1946. In 1947 they moved back to Woodward, Ok where their son, Terry Max, was born in 1948 and they had a daughter, Jeanette Sue, in 1949. In 1952 they returned to Copan, Ok. With a home, a husband and three children Patty became a homemaker. She taught her children and all who loved her many things. We learned to hope and to plan for the future when we watched her plant the flowers and vegetables she grew. We learned that hopes without work would wither, but hopes nurtured and tended would thrive. Dozens of shades of iris bloomed in her yard. She "put up" hundreds of jars of tomatoes, green beans, apple pie filling, and pear honey. Extra vegetables she hung on the fence for anyone who might need them. A little gift of hope. She was an extraordinary cook. We learned the importance of friends and family and the joy of sharing from watching her cook. From whatever she had she made enough for ever how many showed up. There was always an extra plate and a welcome. Friends and family found their way to her table for some coffee or pancakes, some chicken and noodles, some help or advice, some sympathy or laughter. She filled her kitchen with good food, good times, good friends and good family. She was an accomplished seamstress, making everything from baby clothes to prom dresses. She taught 4-H sewing classes for twelve years and was an FFA and FHA Mother. Her greatest love was quilting and she made many beautiful quilts. We learned vision and beauty from watching her quilt. She could pick up a single scrap of fabric and see a finished quilt. She would play with the way the colors, textures and shapes came together. She would envision the quilt and with each stitch she would bring that vision to life. When the quilt was completed she would wrap us in the warmth and beauty she had created. In August of 1997 her beloved Joe passed away. In 2008 she became ill and decided to make her home with her daughter Sue in Winner, South Dakota. As we watched her cope with the loss of her husband and with her illness we learned about the preciousness and fragility of life and the strength and endurance of love. We learned from this quiet, noble, beautiful, joyous woman that making a home for those you love is the ultimate profession and the greatest gift. Pat Clifford was a homemaker. We miss her. She was preceded in death by her mother, father, 3 brothers, 6 sisters, husband (Joe), son (James), and grandson (Austin). She is survived by 1 sister, 3 brothers, son Terry Clifford, Hamill, SD, daughter Sue (Roger) Robbins, Hamill, SD, Daughter-in-law Myrna Clifford, Warrensburg, MO, grandchildren: Amber (Tara) Clifford-Napoleone, Warrensburg, MO, Rachel (Austin) Clifford, Warrensburg, MO, Tara (Joe) Ratliff, Cleveland, OK, Kalyn (Chris) Davis, TX, Barry Hurley, Winner, SD, Lisa Robbins, Oklahoma City, OK, T. J. Robbins, Anchorage, AL, Royce (Ashley) Robbins, Hamill, SD, 14 great-grandchildren, and 1 great, great grandchild. Funeral services will be at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, January 10 in the Stumpff Funeral Home Chapel in Bartlesville, Okla. followed by interment in the Dewey Cemetery. Pastor Russ Grim of Winner, South Dakota will officiate. Pall Bearers are John Hamlin, Earl Pollock, Robert Hamlin, Jimmy Dean Hamlin, Glen Davis, Jack Long and Dean Pollock. Honorary Pallbearers are Jim and Gordy Hamlin, Sam and Marva Hamlin, Charlotte Hamlin, Max and Toni Hamlin, and Dean and Jackie Clifford. The family suggests memorial contributions to The American Cancer Society c/o Kathy Leeper P.O. Box 1094 Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74005 or to the Copan Community Action c/o Paulette Ashlock, 109 S. Johnson, Copan, Oklahoma 74022. PDF Printable Version

Patricia Sue Clifford

June 27, 1925 - January 5, 2012