Linda Patton

COLUMBUS - Mrs. Linda Christine Lester Patton passed from this life on Saturday, June 4, 2016. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 8, at 2:00 p.m. at Fairview Baptist Church in Columbus , Mississippi , with the Rev. Dr. Gene Henderson officiating and the Rev. Dr. Breck Ladd and the Rev. Sammy Crawford assisting. Friends are invited to visit with the family at the church from 12:30 p.m. until the service begins. Interment will follow immediately at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus .

Mrs. Patton was born in Calhoun County , Mississippi , on September 10, 1940, to the late James Clinton Lester and the late Georgie Morgan Lester. She graduated from Vardaman High School , and worked for many years as a homemaker and in retail sales.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, James Edward Lester and Bobby Lewis Lester, and her sister, Ruth Ann Lester Fleming. She is survived by her son, James Edward Patton II (Jeanine), of Monroe, Louisiana; daughters Tamela Patton Whittle (Dewayne) and Tiffany Patton Browning (John), both of Columbus; grandchildren: Charles Edward Patton (Casey Steadman), of Louisville, Kentucky; Michael Lewis ("Trey") Frayser, III (Dallas), of Columbus; Georgie Mae Browning, Sarah Ellen Browning, and Gili Patton Whittle, all of Columbus; and Christopher Dewayne Whittle (Tori) of Saltillo; a sister, Nancy C. Franklin (Robert) of Brandon; a brother, Jerome Buddy Lester (Sandra), of Houston, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Patton enjoyed gardening, watching hummingbirds, collecting teapots, and drinking coffee with her dear friends, June Upton, Hannah Huff, Sue Whitten, Martha Nordquist, and Dorothy Henderson. She was also an outstanding cook, for which she was recognized as Cook of the Week by the Commercial Dispatch in 1970. She found great joy in spending time with and lavishing love upon her children and grandchildren. For more than 45 years, she was an active member of Fairview Baptist Church .

Pallbearers will be Trey Frayser, Buddy Lester, Bryce Fleming, John Browning, Chris Crawley, and Larry Bradford.

Honorary pallbearers will be Bill Fleming, Dale Lester, Barry Lester, Clint Lester, Kenny Lester, Bobby Ward, Albert Lee, Troy Whitten, Richard Huckaby, Brian Huckaby, Lee Huckaby, and Glen Fowler.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Fairview Baptist Church Music Ministry or to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital .

The family wishes to express its gratitude to the physicians and staff of the Critical Care Unit at Baptist Memorial Hospital Golden Triangle for their professional and compassionate care and ministry during Mrs. Patton's final illness.