Maryel "Pat" Singleton

March 26, 1919 - June 26, 2009
SOUTH BEND - Maryel "Pat" Kathleen (Patrick) Singleton, 90, of South Bend, died at 12:35 p.m. Friday, June 26th, in her apartment at Southfield Village Meadows. Mrs. Singleton was born March 26, 1919, in Eminence, Indiana, to the late Lee and Besse Mae (Whitaker) Patrick, and had lived in South Bend since 1950. On October 4, 1940, in Louisville, KY, as Maryel K. Patrick, she married Arthur J. Singleton, who preceded her in death March 28, 2004. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Marjorie Patrick Burtner in 2008; a nephew, Gregory Burner in 2004; and a good friend, Grace Maguire in 2008. She is survived by a daughter, Dianna Lee Singleton Pickering and husband, Timothy L. of Radford, VA; a son, Steven Patrick Singleton of Ann Arbor, MI; three grandchildren, Elizabeth Anne Pickering Flack and husband, Anthony of Fleetwood, PA, Christopher Lee Pickering and wife, Jessica of Roanoke, VA, and Shannon Kathleen Pickering Rigsbee of Roanoke, VA; two great-grandchildren, Marielle Esther and Leah Christine Pickering of Roanoke, VA; niece, Debra Burtner Archbold and husband, Peter of Buffalo Grove, IL; and sister-in-law, Mary Rose Stouffer of Fort Wayne, IN. Pat was a 1940 graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, with a BA in Music Education. While at IU she was a beauty queen in 1938 and 1939. She and her husband Art both had long careers with the South Bend Community School Corporation in the area of music. Art was also the conductor of the Elkhart Municipal Band. Pat began her career as an artist reviewer for the RCA Corporation in New York City. She then became a vocal music teacher in Rossville, IL. Upon moving to South Bend she was a vocal conductor and music teacher at Jefferson Junior High School and later Marquette Elementary School. She retired in 1982 after 30 years of teaching vocal music in the Indiana public school system. Pat was a teacher's union advocate and a member of the South Bend American Federation of Teachers, Chi Omega Sorority, South Bend Pan Hellenic, First United Methodist Church of South Bend, and had been a member of the Democratic Party since 1937. She was an accomplished member and local and state leader in 4-H and was an accomplished seamstress, gardener and chef. She was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and will be greatly missed by all. The family extends its grateful appreciation for the loving care provided by Pat's caregivers and friends at Southfield Village, and thanks other friends and neighbors from the community. A celebration of Pat's life will be held at 1:00 p.m. Monday, June 29th, in the Welsheimer Family Funeral Home, 521 N. William St., with Rev. Deborah Hewitt, chaplain of Southfield Village, officiating. Burial will follow at Southlawn Cemetery. The family will receive friends in the funeral home on Monday from 11 a.m. until the time of service at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Pat's memory may send a contribution in her honor to the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, 111 Sunnybrook Court, South Bend, IN 46637; or to the Employees Recognition Fund for Southfield Village Meadows, Southfield Village, 6450 Miami Circle, South Bend, IN 46614. Family and friends may leave e-mail condolences at welshfh@yahoo.com.