Patsy Ann Groover

Patsy Groover was not adept at boredom.
She was on the front line of late 20th Century women who understood their place was any place. As a working mother of 3, she was busy. As a retiree, she was even more so. When the water aerobics instructor failed to show at her neighborhood pool, Patsy thought nothing of taking over the class. In the summers, she could be seen headed to and from the lessons each morning, with boom box and giant pool noodles in tow.

She recruited the neighborhood residents to go on regular power walks. Even recently, her daily companions had to be vetted by their ability to keep pace on her cardio constitutionals.

Patsy was a creative visionary. Pre-Etsy, she ran a business out of her basement selling beautiful silk floral arrangements held in vintage containers she sourced in antique shops. For many years, she used that same keen eye for décor to punctuate Holiday messages at Mountain West Church. It was one of her favorite ways to celebrate the fellowship and spiritual inspiration she and her late husband, George found there.

Patsy inherited her Father’s fondness for the color green. She was a self-proclaimed uninspired chef - but did whip up a mean batch of Spoonbread. Driving directions were an opportunity for finding adventure, so she rarely followed them. She was a fan of journalist David Muir and actor Bill Pullman, (aka: she told everyone she thought they were cute) and was often inspired by the wisdom of the peerless Dolly Parton.

In the last month of her lovely life, Patsy took beekeeping lessons, attended the ballet and craft classes, supported regional theater, anticipated a puppet-making workshop, attended a high school reunion, and threw pottery at a local art studio. Her last evening was spent marveling the splendor of the holiday light show at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

This lovely former librarian bequeaths the legacy of 3 children and 3 grandchildren, all of whom were taught to innately flinch in the face of bad grammar.

Patsy leaves a long and wide wake filled with fans who concur that the world is a better place for her having been here.

A service to celebrate Patsy’s life will be held at Mountain West Church at 6pm Monday December 20. The family asks that donations to the Alzheimer’s Association be considered in lieu of flowers.