Patricia Louise Blough

Patricia Louise Houvener Blough peacefully went home to be with Jesus early on Saturday morning, August 25, 2018, with her daughter by her side.  She delighted in 91 summers on this earth.

Patricia was born on March 28, 1927, and was the daughter of Abram and Katie Houvener, both from the Netherlands.  They were loving and kind parents.  She had many fond recollections of her early childhood on the family farm "west of town".  (The farm was located on West State Street where the Hastings Aldi store is today.)  Memories of her childhood would flood back as Patricia recalled "Dad" working in the fields using a team of horses and a one bottom plow.  She often wondered how he accomplished such hard work.  Patricia would chuckle as she told of her parents setting up a roadside table to sell the bounty from the family's garden and orchard, including Red Pontiac potatoes and Snow apples, both priced at 50 cents a bushel.  Youngsters Patricia and her playmate, Bob, were instructed to watch over the little produce stand and to tend to the customers.  "When a car would come, we'd get scared and hide under the table, then we'd laugh and laugh,"  she related.  Sunday was a favorite day when, after church, her mother would serve mouth-watering fried chicken, her mom's specialty.

In contrast, her childhood memories of the Great Depression's hardships were less pleasant.  She spoke of men who would come to the farm and, taking advantage of a difficult situation,  would ask to buy the family's belongings.  On one such occasion, her mother sold Patricia's father's violin to provide much needed income.  Her father, Abram, was very upset about his violin being sold, but, it was too late; it was gone.  Patricia attended Central School and Fisher School, both Hastings area schools, and early in life she developed a love for education and learning.

When Patricia was 11 years old, her family moved to the Freeport area where she was soon and always known as "Patty".  A farm south of the village became their home for the next three years.  Patty performed her chores dutifully by gathering the brown eggs from the Barred Rock chickens and white eggs from the Leghorn chickens.  She carried in wood for the cookstove and cleaned the soot out of the kerosene lamps chimneys.  While attending the Jones school she became a 4-H member with projects in sewing and woodworking.  As a young teen, Patricia's mother drove her to a hayfield and gave her driving lessons with the family's Model T.  "Why, that's how a lot of us learned to drive back then," Patty exclaimed.

At age 14, Patricia and her parents moved into the village of Freeport and, now in the seventh grade, she began attending the school west of the village.  A Freeport native and eighth grader, Roy Blough Jr., was also a student in the school.  The pretty new girl caught his eye and many years later he related, " I saw that pretty new girl and I said to myself, 'I'm going to marry that girl'."  For him, it was love at first sight.  He carried through with that thought and years later she became his wife.  Soon Patricia was in high school, studied diligently, earned good grades, and was dating Roy.  Her favorite subjects were American history and American literature.  In her senior year, she auditioned for the three-act comedy play, "Where's Grandma?"  and she was cast as the main character, Grandma.  Patricia was also the runner-up in the Freeport High School ping pong tournament.  Throughout her school years, the ambitious young woman worked at nearly every store in Freeport, except the tavern, as she was quick to add.  During World War II items were rationed and Patty learned to assist customers with the rationing books and stamps for food items.  She remembered that butter was in high demand at the store.  Patricia graduated from Freeport High School in 1945, along with her best chum, Edwina Hostetler.  Patty's goal was to attend Western Michigan University to become a teacher but, due to circumstances beyond her control, she was unable to do so.  Soon after graduation she was employed by the Windstorm Company, now Hastings Mutual Insurance Company.  In the morning she "caught" a ride with the postman from Freeport to Hastings and after work she waited for the postman to take her back to Freeport.  She worked at Hastings Mutual for over 30 years.  Data processing was her area of expertise and she enjoyed the challenge of the job.  She was a conscientious employee.

On a rainy Saturday, April 23, 1949, Patricia Houvener married her high school sweetheart, Roy Blough Jr., at the home of her parents in Freeport.  The newlyweds settled in a small, upstairs apartment in Hastings and were hired to manage the apartment building.  Patricia and Roy had interesting stories about managing an apartment building.  In 1954, they bought a home in the Hastings area.  They shared that home for the remainder of their 60 1/2 year marriage.   They steadily worked to maintain and improve the house and property and felt blessed to call it "home".

Throughout her life, Patricia participated in many hobbies and activities.  The older ladies in Freeport taught her to crochet and it became a lifelong source of enjoyment as she crocheted afghans, sweaters, pillows, and other treasures for her family.  She learned embroidery, as well.  Flowers were a main focus of her interest in her handiwork and gardens.  "I love any kind of flower," was a phrase she often said. That thought was expressed in Patricia's many gardens planted with a variety of plants and flowers, some passed down from generation to generation.  She and Roy had a raised bed garden filled with beautiful lilies.  People who were homebound or residents at the local skilled nursing facilities were often recipients of a bouquet of roses or lilies kindly delivered by Roy and Patricia.  Feeding birds and watching their antics was a favorite pastime for many years in Patricia's life.  She also enjoyed offering nectar to the hummingbirds.  In later years, Patricia welcomed the challenge of solving word search puzzles.  Her M.I. Hummel figurine, plate, and bell collection was a pursuit she and her husband shared.  Some of the favorite Hummels were "Merry Wanderer", "Apple Tree Girl", and "Just Resting".  The search to find the next perfect addition to the collection was a great delight and challenge.

Life was full of busyness for Patricia.  Many of her interests centered around church life as she was a long time member of the United Brethren Church and later Hope United Methodist Church.  As a young teen, she became a Sunday School teacher and continued to teach for many years.  The "older ladies" class was one of her favorite classes to teach.  Patricia also taught vacation Bible school, held the Lay Leader position, supported the youth programs, and was a member of the women's group to promote missions.  As a very young child, Patricia's mother had introduced her to the concept of supporting missions by having the little girl accompany her to the ladies missionary meetings.  "Mother would drive the Model T and we would give some of the other ladies a ride to the meetings," Patricia reminisced.  She said how dedicated and kind the ladies were and how she listened to them pray.  The vision of spreading God's Word was realized by Patricia when she supported local and worldwide mission organizations throughout the majority of her life.  A greeting card ministry was important to Patricia.  She was disappointed when she realized sending cards may come to an end.  Most birthday cards would carry the traditional greeting and she would add Proverbs 3:5 and 6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him (God), and He will direct your paths."  It was a reminder to the card's recipient to follow Jesus and seek His guidance in all of life's situations.

Community involvement included participating as a 4-H leader for Foods projects in the Coats Grove 4-H club.  As a Red Cross volunteer, she baked delicious cookies for the blood donors to enjoy.  Being an accomplished baker allowed Patricia to share her skill and baked goods with the community and her family.  She made wonderfully creative and tasty birthday cakes for her daughter and son.  Other interests included attending travelogues at Central Auditorium, gospel concerts at the Civic Auditorium in Grand Rapids often featuring the Gaithers, the Blackwood Brothers or Doug Oldham, traveling and camping.  The family enjoyed visiting historic sights and seeing the beauty of the United States and Canada.  The money spent on the 16 feet long, iconic pink and white Shasta trailer was a good investment, after all.

Patricia was known for her sense of humor, often when least expected.  Following a humorous, one line remark, laughter would erupt and ripple through the air  She laughed easily.  She was a compassionate person who was interested in other people's lives and well-being.  Patricia desired the best for everyone.  She was an attentive listener, gave wise counsel, and could easily chat about a variety of topics.  To all who would listen, she was the unofficial historian for the Houvener and Blough families as well as the Hastings and Freeport areas.  These narratives will be sadly and greatly missed.  Patricia was a trusted, dependable "prayer warrior" as she prayed for people's needs and situations.  Those who had contact with her throughout the years have described Patricia as "sweet" and "gracious", even when not feeling well.  She was an example of bravery, perseverance, and courage in difficult times, especially these last few years.  Patricia would say, "I'm doing my best, " while continuing to manage a variety of health issues.  She would say, "I've always done my best in everything I did."  Even as she faced health challenges she would state, "I have so much to be thankful for."  She did not have an easy life; she overcame many difficult circumstances.  Patricia remained a thoughtful, devoted daughter, wife, and mom who loved her family dearly, took good care of them, and most importantly prayed for their cares and concerns.  She was also a loving, praying grandma and great-grandma.

And, "Yes, Mom, we did have a lot of fun together. "

Those who have passed on before Patricia are her husband, Roy Jr., parents, brother, sister, nephew, tiny great-grandchildren, brother-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, Blough sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, and best friend, Edwina Burgess.  Also worthy of mention is her childhood companion and great pal, Duke, the beloved farm dog.

Left to cherish her memory are daughter,  Susan Louise (Brian) and son, Philip Roy (Susan), as well as seven grandchildren, Timothy (Allison), Erin (Nicolas), Megan (Jeff), Thomas (Elizabeth), Owen (Tika), Kathryn (Clemente), and Jeremiah.  The "Little Ones", as she called them, who will miss great-grandma are Hannah, Noah, Hope, Faith, and Anderson.  She also leaves behind cousins, friends, neighbors, Blough family nieces and nephews, and dear friend Chris Horstman.

A service to celebrate Patricia's life will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 29, 2018, at Girrbach Funeral Home in Hastings.  The family will visit with family members and friends that morning from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Gideons at the Funeral Home or online at www.gideons.org .  The Gideons are an international organization "dedicated to making the word of God available to everyone."

Assistance with arrangements were provided by Girrbach Funeral Home.  To leave an online condolence, visit www.girrbachfuneralhome.net .

Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."