Vanice "Arnette" Patton, 73, of Albany died in her home with family surrounding her and her grandson Kyle holding her hand. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her.
The second of six children, Arnette was born in Vilonia, Ark., to Herman and Beulah Newman. In 1950, the family moved from Arkansas to Oregon, after a tornado wiped out their farm. In 1954, they moved to Tulare, Calif.
She met Willard "Wayne" Patton at a school Christmas pageant in 1955 and they were married after a three-month courtship on March 23, 1956, in Fresno, Calif. They moved back to Oregon in 1959, eventually settling in Albany in 1965. They celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary on March 23, 2005. Wayne passed away on April 2, 2005. They had four children, Richard, Mitchell, Polly and Steve.
In 2006, she met Urbano Garibay. He remained her companion and caretaker until she passed away.
As her friends and family know, Arnette was a compassionate and loving person. Even after tragically losing a son in 1985, Arnette and Wayne relied on each other to pull through and were stronger as a result. Some of her favorite memories were about the country drives with Wayne and her two trips to Hawaii. The first trip was with her daughter, Polly, and her granddaughter Alisia in 2004. It was her first trip on a plane and she was so excited she was taking pictures in the plane and out the windows. She fell in love with the fragrant flowers of Hawaii and the warm ocean water that she could snorkel in. She also enjoyed her flowers at home, especially the first ones of spring, and her beautiful summer roses. She was also very fond of her dogs, which were her guardians and constant companions.
Arnette is survived by boyfriend Urbano Garibay and stepdaughter Anna Garibay; children Richard Patton and wife Darlene of Salem, Mitchell Patton and wife Sheryl of Salem, and Polly Camomile and husband Chris of Albany; grandchildren Misty, Brittany and Robert Patton, Matthew Jacobs, Andrew, Ben and Rachel Abbott, Logan Camomile, and Alisia and Kyle Ball; sister Bev Stadler; brothers Dorton and Alan Newman; sister-in-law Ada Slayter; and brothers-in-law Jerry Patton, William Patton and Donny Patton.
She was preceded in death by her mother and father; husband Wayne; son Steve; grandson Rick Boes; sister Janice Dewann Cooper; and brother Wandell Newman.
"Mom, you will always be with us ... "
Viewing will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at AAsum-Dufour Funeral home. A celebration of life will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at Harvest Baptist Church, 2660 Marion St. S.E., Albany.
AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling arrangements ( www.aasum-dufour.com ).