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“I'm never going to give up, I'm not going to ease up, shut up or give up until I'm taken up. In fact, I'm just getting warmed up.”
Those words, found typewritten on a piece of paper by her typewriter, epitomize the spirit of Patricia “Pat” Barrett, who died Dec. 31 in Carson City.
Pat, or Patty as she also was fondly known, was a remarkable woman who rose from a 16-year-old kitchen worker at the former Arlington Hotel on North Carson Street to a superstar in the real estate industry.
Her memorial service Saturday was an event she would have loved to have attended. A gathering with her beloved family, loyal friends and fa vorite hymns.
In a unique touch, instead of a guest book, attendees were invited to sign an urn containing her remains.
Patty left a large extended family including her husband, Ralph, with whom she would have celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary on Valen tine's Day; three children, George and James Thomas Williams and Lila Tuohy; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
The early years were not easy for Pat, who was born to George and Lila McCutcheon in 1919 in Mason. Her father was a miner, and the family moved all across the state from mining camp to mining camp.
It was a primitive existence with little opportunities for social interaction, said her son James Thomas Williams, one of several speakers at the memorial service. He said this experience led Pat to have a great desire to have a permanent home, one with great community involvement.
After her husband was killed in a car accident, she was left without a sufficient income to support here three children, Williams said. Pat worked as a legal secretary and later as part of Gov. Paul Laxalt's administration and then embarked on a career in real estate, the fulfillment of a longtime dream. She was a broker and owner of Sierra Land Realty for more than 30 years. Daughter Lila recently told me that real estate was her mother's passion.
Pat was a woman of extremes, including determination and generosity, the former which led to her success in real estate and her life, her daughter-in-law Sharon Williams said.
Of her generosity, Williams said Pat “literally (would) give you the shirt off her back,” recalling a time when her granddaughter complimented her on a shirt she was wearing, and she took it off and gave it to the girl, who gave it back, politely explaining she meant it looked good on her grandmother.
Williams evoked laughter by referring to a sort of motto of Pat's: “It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”
Niece Linda Hunstiger spoke of Pat's deep faith in God, energy and love. A granddaughter and two great-granddaughters, at times tearfully, related their happy and humorous experiences with Pat and their abiding devotion to her.
Son George Williams said his mother “knew everybody,” and “if you didn't have a personal relationship on a first-name basis, hadn't gone to school with them, hadn't danced with them, hadn't dated with them, you were a nobody.”
On a serious note, he said his mother brought him “the world's greatest gift — full and unconditional love.”
To her family, Pat was “a force to be reckoned with ... always positive, never negative and never down,” said Pastor Bruce Henderson.
From the mining camps in her childhood to her highly successful career in real estate, Pat was always the embodiment of courage and determination.
She was also a grand lady, and I'm glad to have been counted among her many, many friends.
• Sue Morrow is a longtime journalist and a member of the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame. She can be reached at soozymorrow@yahoo.com.
Those words, found typewritten on a piece of paper by her typewriter, epitomize the spirit of Patricia “Pat” Barrett, who died Dec. 31 in Carson City.
Pat, or Patty as she also was fondly known, was a remarkable woman who rose from a 16-year-old kitchen worker at the former Arlington Hotel on North Carson Street to a superstar in the real estate industry.
Her memorial service Saturday was an event she would have loved to have attended. A gathering with her beloved family, loyal friends and fa vorite hymns.
In a unique touch, instead of a guest book, attendees were invited to sign an urn containing her remains.
Patty left a large extended family including her husband, Ralph, with whom she would have celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary on Valen tine's Day; three children, George and James Thomas Williams and Lila Tuohy; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
The early years were not easy for Pat, who was born to George and Lila McCutcheon in 1919 in Mason. Her father was a miner, and the family moved all across the state from mining camp to mining camp.
It was a primitive existence with little opportunities for social interaction, said her son James Thomas Williams, one of several speakers at the memorial service. He said this experience led Pat to have a great desire to have a permanent home, one with great community involvement.
After her husband was killed in a car accident, she was left without a sufficient income to support here three children, Williams said. Pat worked as a legal secretary and later as part of Gov. Paul Laxalt's administration and then embarked on a career in real estate, the fulfillment of a longtime dream. She was a broker and owner of Sierra Land Realty for more than 30 years. Daughter Lila recently told me that real estate was her mother's passion.
Pat was a woman of extremes, including determination and generosity, the former which led to her success in real estate and her life, her daughter-in-law Sharon Williams said.
Of her generosity, Williams said Pat “literally (would) give you the shirt off her back,” recalling a time when her granddaughter complimented her on a shirt she was wearing, and she took it off and gave it to the girl, who gave it back, politely explaining she meant it looked good on her grandmother.
Williams evoked laughter by referring to a sort of motto of Pat's: “It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”
Niece Linda Hunstiger spoke of Pat's deep faith in God, energy and love. A granddaughter and two great-granddaughters, at times tearfully, related their happy and humorous experiences with Pat and their abiding devotion to her.
Son George Williams said his mother “knew everybody,” and “if you didn't have a personal relationship on a first-name basis, hadn't gone to school with them, hadn't danced with them, hadn't dated with them, you were a nobody.”
On a serious note, he said his mother brought him “the world's greatest gift — full and unconditional love.”
To her family, Pat was “a force to be reckoned with ... always positive, never negative and never down,” said Pastor Bruce Henderson.
From the mining camps in her childhood to her highly successful career in real estate, Pat was always the embodiment of courage and determination.
She was also a grand lady, and I'm glad to have been counted among her many, many friends.
• Sue Morrow is a longtime journalist and a member of the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame. She can be reached at soozymorrow@yahoo.com.
