Patsy Lou "Pat" Adkins

1933 - 2026

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." - Thomas Campell.

Patsy Egnor Adkins was born to Fred Gifford and Pearl Egnor on August 9, 1933, and passed away on January 28, 2026 at the age of 92. She was born in Bulger, West Virginia, graduated as Valedictorian at Washington District High School and was a longtime resident of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. She had recently moved into her daughter's home in Germantown, Wisconsin and as a woman who never sacrificed style, spent her last days in sunny and warm(er) Miramar Beach, Florida. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Charles Edward Adkins Sr., and her son Douglas Eugene Adkins. The eldest girl of the eight children of Gifford and Pearl Egnor surviving infancy, she was also preceded in death by all but one of her siblings.

She is survived by her sister Karen Qualls of Menifee, California, her son Chuck Adkins (Leigh Ann) of Point Pleasant and her daughter Gale Given (Joe). She is also survived by her adored grandchildren: Laura, Christopher, Melissa (Enrique) and Charles Adkins; Jenny Taylor (Jared), Beth Adkins and Megan Tran (Matt); and Brad (Stephanie), Erica and Drew Given (Dani). She was especially delighted by her great-grandchildren: Charleigh and Enrique Avila Adkins (Melissa's children); Seth, Eli and Grant Taylor (Jenny's children); Lily Tran (Megan's child); and Noah, Ellie and Marin Given (Brad's children). She is also survived by many nieces and nephews who will always remember Aunt Pat.

Pat had a long, successful career at Holzer Medical Center beginning in the Nursing Office and ending in Hospital Administration as the Assistant to the President. She was well known and appreciated and there are many there that still remember and revere her - although she outlived many of her dearest friends.

She was a voracious reader and loved Wordle, cryptograms and crossword puzzles. She was a huge tennis fan and always had a favorite player. In recent years it was Andy Roddick followed by John Isner. Currently it was Taylor Fritz, although she hated it when he bleached his hair. She once attended a Roddick match with a sign that read "Grannies for Andy". On the women's tour it was, of course, Serena Williams and more recently Coco Gauff and Jess Pegula. She spent countless hours watching tournaments, sometimes in the middle of the night until finally subscribing to the Tennis Channel. She had many Wimbledon weekends in Point Pleasant with family members and was ecstatic to attend a match at the US Open in New York two years ago. We all knew not to call during a match and it was a near felonious offense to tell her who won a match before she had a chance to view her recording. She loved other sports as well and it is not impossible that she may have had a libation now and then to get through a Mountaineer game.

She was the queen of etiquette and we are all worried that there could be a grammatical error in this memoriam, which would be wildly inappropriate. She also loved traveling and was excited to have visited 49 (I think) states, Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Greece, the British Isles, Canada, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean islands.

Mom was especially grateful for the calls and visits from her friends and family since leaving West Virginia and while in Florida. She had several nieces who for years have treated her like a mother, not an elderly aunt. We will never forget their care and attention. The family would like to thank Pat's medical team at Aurora Health Care in Germantown and Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin who in the past 18 months made her feel relevant and listened-to; and at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Miramar Beach, Florida for the excellent care she received in the last few weeks. We would also like to thank the staff from Gentiva Hospice and Dragonfly Health who helped ease her last days. I'm sure we've left people out who should be mentioned and we beg forgiveness for the oversight.

Following her wishes, Pat will be cremated and buried along with the ashes of her son Doug at Kirkland Memorial Gardens in Mason County, West Virginia, next to her husband. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date which has not yet been set.

Mom was especially close to her grandchildren. One spoke for the rest saying that no one else ever made them feel safer or more loved and that Mommaw would kill a bear with her fingernails for them. But she really wouldn't have to, said another, she could just raise an eyebrow and the bear would surrender.

And one actual, final conversation; "I couldn't have written a better Grandma", said one. "That's right", replied Mom/Mommaw/Grammy.