Patricia Phelps

It is with heavy hearts and great sadness that the family of Patricia Phelps announces that Patricia passed away early on Friday morning, August 8, at her home in Bluffton, South Carolina after a long illness. Ed, her husband of 58 years, was at her side along with sons Michael of Grand Ledge, Michigan and Steven of Marietta, Georgia. Her brother Fredrick Van Vurst of Colorado Springs, Colorado and sister Virginia of Round Lake, Illinois were both in Bluffton at the time of death. Pat is also survived by two grandchildren, Jenna and Jake Phelps of Marietta, Georgia. Pat was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 9, 1942. She grew up in the Detroit suburbs of Huntington Woods and Bloomfield Hills. She graduated from Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills in 1959. Following high school she attended Miami of Ohio, the University of Michigan and the Rochester Clinic school of Physical Therapy graduating in 1963. Her longtime dream of becoming a P.T. had become her well-deserved reality. Pat would practice Physical Therapy in Pontiac, Kalamazoo and the Flint area of Michigan for more than forty years. Pat and Ed were married in 1967 and lived and worked in Kalamazoo, before moving to Flint, Michigan in 1972. On December 30, 2004, Pat and Ed moved to Sun City Hilton Head in Bluffton where they enjoyed more than 20 years of retirement. Pat, like Ed, was an avid golfer. She loved playing bridge and volunteered with the Sun City Theatre and Meals on Wheels. Together they relished the opportunity to travel and visited more than 20 countries in the world and numerous states in the United States. Summers in Northern Michigan, however, by the shores of Lake Michigan always remained at the top of her "must visit" list. The family of Patricia wants to thank the St. Joseph/Candler cancer center and Mirasol Palliative Care and Hospice Center for their efforts and their great kindness. Please direct donations to either Mirasol Hospice or the American Cancer Society. There will be a memorial, a celebration of life for Pat in the near future. It was a difficult ending but only after a wonderful and exciting journey through life. It was a wonderful life. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Patricia Phelps, please visit our floral store.