Patricia Penton Leimbach

1927 - 2013

Patricia Penton Leimbach
BROWNHELM TOWNSHIP - Patricia Penton Leimbach, 85, of Brownhelm Township, passed away on Saturday, January 5th, following a short illness.
She was born in Amherst in 1927 and graduated from Amherst Central High School in 1945. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, did graduate studies at McGill University in Montreal, and taught for a couple of years at Henrietta High School.
Upon marrying Paul Leimbach in 1950, Pat moved to End O'Way Farms in Brownhelm Township, where she lived for the rest of her life serving as an active partner in the family's potato, vegetable, and grain farming operation. Her community activities included church, historical society, and book club. She enjoyed art museums, skiing, theater and cinema, and was an avid reader.
Pat was known nationwide in the U.S. and Canada as the Country Wife. She wrote a weekly rural life column for the Chronicle Telegram of Elyria, Ohio, for 38 years. Her articles were syndicated to farm publications nationwide and she contributed free-lance articles to various farm magazines and other publications. Many of her essays were compiled into her three books: A Thread of Blue Denim, All My Meadows, and A Harvest of Bittersweet. For over 30 years, Pat travelled to 48 states and 6 provinces sharing animated readings of her humorous articles at conferences and banquets. The Wall Street Journal referred to her as the Erma Bombeck of the Farm Belt and she appeared with Erma on Good Morning, America. She was also a guest on the Today Show and Larry King Live.
Pat's notable accomplishments were honored as she was elected to the Amherst High School Gallery of Success, named a Distinguished Alumna of her college, featured in Country Woman magazine as an outstanding farm woman, presented with the Leaven Award by American Agri-Women, and inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame.
Pat is survived by her brother John, her son Orrin (Cathie), her grandchildren Kelly Bristow (Tom); Sarah, Lisel, Paul, Erika, and Shannon Leimbach; and great grandchildren Michayla Burke, Riley Bland, and Preston Dudek. She is preceded in death by her husband Paul, her sons Dane and Ted, her sister Mary Alice Kovach, and her brothers Erik, Ted, Henry, and William Penton.
Pat donated her body to Case Western Reserve's school of medicine for research and education. A memorial service celebrating Pat's life will be held on Saturday, January 26, at the Brownhelm Congregational United Church of Christ at 11:00 am. There will be visitation at the church on Friday, January 25, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in honor of Pat may be made to the Brownhelm United Church of Christ, 2144 North Ridge Road, Vermilion, OH, 44089; or the Brownhelm Historical Association, P.O. Box 303, Vermilion, OH, 44089.