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Patty Barth Obituary
Services for Patty Jean Barth, 82, Carmel, will be at 12 noon Tuesday at Flanner and Buchanan-Oaklawn Memorial Gardens (Good Shepherd Chapel), 9700 Allisonville Rd., Indianapolis, with calling that day from 10 a.m. She passed peacefully Jan. 29 at home with her beloved daughters.
The widow of Robert E. Barth, Mrs. Barth was a co-owner of Barth Electric Co. As a couple, Bob and Patty enjoyed playing golf in the Indianapolis area, where they were members of the Golf Club of Indiana. On Aug. 8, 1983, Patty scored a hole in one. As a resident of Bridgewater, Patty continued her golfing success at The Bridgewater Club's Executive Golf Course, where fellow members and friends valued her talent for skillful chip shots. Playing outside the Indianapolis area, Patty especially looked forward to her rounds of golf while at her home away from home in Key Largo, Fla., dubbed "Patty's Paradise" by her family. She had been a member of Starlighters, the support group for the former Starlight Musicals program at Butler University, and she was a member of the Clowes Hall Women's Committee, the Women's Committee of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Order of the Eastern Star Beech Grove Chapter 465. She attended Northview Church.
Survivors include daughters Vicki L. Gillaspy and Sally Zier; grandchildren Alyssa Scotten, Erica L. Costa, James R. Gillaspy and Jacob Zier; and great-grandchildren Lucas Coleman, Oliver Scotten, Carmen Brielle Ferro, Haylee Sexson, Elliot Scotten, Lochlean Gillaspy and Juliet Costa. A native of Scottsville, Ky., Patty was preceded in death by her parents, Payton Arlee and Ruby Jewell Riggs, and her brother, Relis Riggs. Online condolences may be made at www.flannerbuchanan.com.
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5 Entries
Jim Gillaspy
February 8, 2016
In his infinite wisdom, God has taken Patty Barth, one of the sweetest and kindest and gentlest women ever to grace the earth, and surely one of his finest creations. In his infinite mercy, God spared Patty from much pain and suffering. We who are left behind, however, feel the pain. We mourn her loss, and we suffer. I think she would not want that. Beneath her soft spoken and unassuming demeanor, Patty was a strong woman who could bear any misfortune that came her way. But she always wanted the best for her friends and her family, and she always did whatever she could to make them happy. As a way of life, she simply thought of others before she worried about herself. Instead of remorse, today we embrace the joy we share by having Patty in our lives. We celebrate the impact she has had on each of us. We are grateful for the love she showered on us while she was here, and for the wonderful memories she leaves behind. We are thankful for the friendships that she nourished, the support and encouragement she gave when needed and the shining example she presented for what it means to be someone who truly cares. As I think of the many cards and letters from her friends while Patty was recovering from one ailment or another in the past few months, I can tell you that she very much appreciated the outpouring of love. At the same time, she was very much frustrated by her inability to write back a thank-you note. Patty's world centered on her concerns for the welfare of her friends and her family, and she never wanted to let us down.
Patty was born a country girl in Scottsville, Kentucky. She demonstrated the depth of her ability to be a good and loyal friend at a tender age. When she entered her first year of school, she arrived as a determined student. Specifically, she was determined that schoolteachers put her in the same class as her best friend. To Patty, it didn't matter that her girlfriend Sue was older and in a higher grade. Patty was unrelenting, and in short order she ended up in Sue's class. Now, that's a true friend. Throughout her life, Patty carried that kind of commitment to friends and family, never wavering in her support and ever constant in her love.
As for the things she loved most, you would have to put conversation near the top of the list. For Patty, her favorite way of connecting with friends and family was through conversation. Whether she was bowling with friends in her ladies league, golfing with friends or relatives at one of the many courses she played, chatting at a Starlighters function or simply talking on the phone, which she did a lot, Patty was an animated conversationalist who seemed to draw her energy from her relationships. It didn't matter if someone ran out of things to say. Patty would eagerly take up the slack and go into monologue mode. And if there ever came a time when Patty herself ran out of things to say, she would simply start over, repeating some of the choice items she'd already discussed. Sometimes, when you would get a phone call from Patty, she would skip the initial hellos and go straight to the good stuff. If she started a phone conversation by saying, Well . . . , followed by a brief pause as she took a deep breath, that was a sure sign to prepare for the long haul. That simple prelude was almost a warning Patty had a lot on her mind, and she wasn't going to stop talking until she shared it all.
Of course, you'd have to add shopping to her list of favorite things to do. But true to her character, the shopping was rarely about her needs or wants. Over the years, she never tired of walking the malls with her daughters and grandchildren and buying clothes for her expanding family. She loved seeing them handsomely adorned in something she had lovingly provided. And each occasion provided more evidence of her joy in giving.
When Patty was a teenager, and a sharp dresser in her own right, she and her family moved to Indianapolis. It was a good place to find a job, and it took little time for her parents to do just that. Indianapolis also turned out to be a good place to find a husband. Patty was soon wed, marrying a young firecracker she met on a blind date. His name was Bob Barth, his dad owned an up-and-coming electrical contracting company, and he was absolutely smitten with the young girl from Kentucky. The rest, as they say, is history. Together, Patty and Bob raised two lovely daughters and continued to cultivate their love for their family, for their friends and for each other. Their partnership lasted more than 50 years before Patty became a widow. During that time, they cherished each other's company and the family ties that only grew stronger as their girls married and raised families of their own. As with most couples, Bob and Patty were doting grandparents who showered love and affection on their grandkids. As the families grew, so did Bob and Patty's generosity. They gave their time, their money and their loving attention. They were there for all of their families' sporting events and school functions. Just as they were when their daughters were gymnasts or dancers or cheerleaders, Bob and Patty became the biggest fans at their grandkids' ball games, dance and orchestra concerts, hockey matches and jet ski races.
Besides golf, a weekly activity that Patty and Bob excelled in and shared with numerous friends, another of Patty's favorite pastimes involved her trips to Key Largo, Florida, with the exception of one particular trip when a hurricane spun off a tornado that destroyed their trailer on the Florida Bay. Bob and Patty happened to be in the trailer at the time, and they were both contemplating their final moments on earth when it hit. Instead, they both survived, without a scratch, and Bob set about building a storm-proof replacement that the family would soon after crown as Patty's Paradise.
When Bob passed a couple of years later, Patty initiated a new tradition. Each night before going to bed she would reach for his bedside portrait and gently kiss his cheek. Just as we wish Patty was alive with us today, she wished Bob had never gone, was still there to tease her and snuggle with her, and still around to share the joy of friends and family that had fueled their lives together. She grieved, but she never surrendered to the pain of her loss. When Bob was no longer there to care for Patty, Patty emerged as a strong and independent woman who would soldier on to preserve her husband's legacy of love. More than ever she relished life and valued everyone who was a part of her life. She became a regular churchgoer; she continued her cheerleading and financial support of her children's and grandchildren's pursuits; she pursued her own dream of living on a golf course; she revisited her winning form on The Executive Club links at Bridgewater; and, in the process, she added many new friends to the long list of people who would periodically get a phone call or a card from this woman who truly cared.
About 10 years ago, Patty had a heart attack and fell to the floor of her home. I tried to revive her with CPR, or at least keep her alive. She did not appear to be breathing and her eyes showed no sign of life. A fire department rescue squad arrived, we stopped CPR and they shocked her heart back into its normal rhythm. Later, Patty would say she died on the floor that day, and that she remembers herself standing in front of gates, with a heavenly light shining down and her deceased relatives approaching the gate to greet her. One by one, her mother, her husband and her in-laws said hello. She remembers stepping toward the gates to enter and join her family. Before she could, soothing voices repeated that it was not yet her time.
Now, that time has come. We friends and family loved Patty dearly. We admired her zest for life and the energy she showed with every endeavor. She lived life with enthusiasm, and she never allowed any disappointment or discomfort to deter her from her efforts to comfort others. We enjoyed her unique persona, a combination of Jackie Kennedy elegance and Coal Miner's Daughter persistence. When Patty's time came, she made her final commitment to friends and family. Presented with her options, Patty chose against her chances for surgery and a somewhat longer life at the hospital. She wanted a more satisfying farewell near places and people she loved. She returned home to be with us and to think of us in her final hours. On the day before she died, she took care of another longtime personal goal. As perhaps the final item on her bucket list, Patty asked for and received her first baptism. Now, she was right with the Lord, and you could see the light in her eyes, hear the joy in her voice and sense that the end was near. She died peacefully in her sleep the next morning, her loving daughters Vicki and Sally at her side. She rests now with Bob in the bosom of the Lord, a lady with a grand beauty, a forgiving heart and a great capacity for love. As she faced the end, Patty came home to be with God and with us. In our hearts and our minds and our memories, she always will be.
February 3, 2016
In memory of a wonderful lady. She will be missed.
Nancy and Randy Kruse
February 1, 2016
Sally,
Please accept our sincerest condolences.
Magda Strunk
January 31, 2016
Sally, I am really sorry for your loss, your mom was a sweet, kind and beautiful lady, I am glad I met her,
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Harry Keith
January 31, 2016
Sally, We are so sorry for your loss.We are so honored to have met her.She was a wonderful person.
Love,Harry and Linda Keith
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