Patricia Christian
On Friday, January 11, 2019, Patricia Ann Roach Christian, aka Pooch, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, passed away at the age of 79, surrounded by her loved ones.
Pat was born on Friday, March 10, 1939, in Ducktown, Tn., to the late Bill and Sue Roach. She grew up in Copperhill, TN where she graduated from Copper Basin High School and played basketball. She then attended the University of Chattanooga and joined the Chi Omega Women’s Fraternity. On Oct. 18, 1957, Pat went on her first date with her now husband, Charles Christian to a Copperhill football game. Shortly after they started going steady, and on Feb. 25, 1958, he pinned her and she became a Lambda Chi Darling. On Dec. 21, 1958, Charlie proposed and they were married the next summer, in the wedding of the century, on July 18, 1959.
Pat was an active member of the community. She taught swimming lessons for years at the YWCA and YMCA. She worked at Family & Children’s Services, now Partnership for Family, Children, & Adults until she retired on Jan. 31, 2004. But retirement did not stop her from serving the community, she volunteered for Meals on Wheels and Chattanooga Area Food Bank.
Pat had a passion for gardening. You could always find her outside doing something in the yard, whether it was planting flowers, putting out mulch, or picking up hickory nuts. Her garden was the picture of hard work, love, and beauty. She was a member of the Jenny Wren Garden Club and the North Heron Bay Community Club. Besides gardening, she loved reading, outside of course, working jigsaw puzzles, and playing bridge. Pat never met a stranger. She could brighten anyone’s day by just being around her. She would talk to a wall just as long as she could talk. Because of her talkative nature, she had so many friends. She loved going to dinner or on trips with the “gang.” Pat has been a member of St. John United Methodist Church for 59 years and was very active in the Joy Sunday School class. “She is clothed with strength and dignity; and she laughs without fear of the future,” Proverbs 31:25. She was known for her fondness of the outdoors, her kind and feisty nature, love of God, and her infectious talkative spirit.
Pat was preceded in death by her father, Bill, and her mother, Sue.
She is survived by her husband, Charles Christian, her two children, Denise (Richard) Miles, and Mike (Leslie) Christian, her brother, John (Martha) Roach, her five grandchildren, Nicole (Brent) Lewis, Rebecca Hamby, Miles Christian, Aaron Hamby, and Kent Christian, her great-granddaughter, Charlee Lewis, and several cousins and nieces.
Visitations will be held on Friday, Jan. 18, from 4–8 p.m. and a funeral service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 12 p.m. with visitation one hour before, both at St. John United Methodist Church.
Active pallbearers are Jim Burris, Kent Christian, Miles Christian, Aaron Hamby, Mike Reed, and Doug White. Honorary pallbearers are the members of the Joy Sunday School class at St. John United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her honor to Partnership for Family, Children, & Adults, 1800 McCallie Ave., Chattanooga, Tn. 37404, or St. John United Methodist Church, 3921 Murray Hills Dr., Chattanooga, Tn. 37416.
Arrangements are by the Valley View Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421
Memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chattanoogavalleyviewchapel.com.