Patricia Anne Stracke Eshleman

1936 - 2018

Patricia Anne Stracke Eshleman entered into eternal rest on 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, FL. She worked part-time for the St. Louis Cardinal Baseball Team Spring Training in St. Petersburg before she 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 room 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 church choir and helped raise the necessary scholarship money for the 36 students who sang. She is survived by son Robert Perry Webster of Greeneville, TN, step-sons Martin Eugene Eshleman of Tampa, FL and David Mark Eshleman of Muncy, PA. Services will be held Sat., Feb. 24, 2018 at 2:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church, 724 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand, FL. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the choir fund at First Presbyterian, DeLand.