Patricia Anne ESHLEMAN

1936 - 2018

ESHLEMAN, Patricia Anne (Stracke)

entered into eternal rest, February 12, 2018. Patricia was born July 6, 1936 in Adel, Georgia to parents, Donald and Juanita Stracke. Her brother, Tony Stracke, predeceased her. She graduated from Largo High School, Largo, FL, St. Petersburg Jr. College and Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL. Pat married her husband, Fred R. Eshleman in St. Petersburg. She worked part-time for the St. Louis Cardinal Baseball Team spring training in St. Petersburg before was employed with General Telephone in marketing. She left General Telephone to purchase and operate the award winning Red Rocker Country Inn in Black Mountain, NC. While there, for 16 years, every day, she made 11 desserts from scratch for the guests who came for lunch or dinner.

Evangelist, Billy Graham came so often to eat blackberry cobbler that the private dining roon was named in his honor. Retiring, she and Fred moved to Deland, FL in 1999, where she became a president of the Daisy Garden Club. She was on the executive board of the Museum of Florida

Art and was a president of the museum's guild. She was also a member of the Krewe of Amalee. Pat was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, Deland, serving as Clerk of Session and a member of the Chancel Choir. She and Fred were very active in recruiting Stetson University music students to sing with the adult choir and helped raise the necesary scholarship money for the 36 students who sang. She is survived by son, Robert Perry Webster of Greeneville, TN; stepsons, Martin Eugene Eshleman of Tampa, FL and David Mark Eshleman of Muncy, PA. Services will be held Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, 2 pm, at First Presbyterian Church, 724 N. Woodland Blvd., Deland. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the choir fund at First Presbyterian Church, Deland.