On July 18 th , 1947 Patty Elizabeth King was born in Aberdeen, Mississippi to the late Otis and Sarah King. Patty's father was an airplane mechanic in the Air Force and her mom was a stay at home wife and mother. Five years later, Patty's younger sister, Belinda Jan Kroutter, ousted Patty as the only child. The girls were considered high-class gypsies because they moved so much. When the planes their father worked on moved, so did they. Patty's favorite location was Japan. She often told her family about traveling there by boat and all the adventures they had while living there for four years. Patty was part of girl scouts and when she was old enough, she worked as a lifeguard at the pools on base.

Patty made the most important decision of her life when she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at a young age. This decision would be the foundation on which she built her entire life.

After Patty's father retired from the military, he worked various jobs as a pump technician, which led to their move to Hobbs, New Mexico. It was in Hobbs that Patty met the love of her life, Jimmie Robert McCorkle, lovingly known as "Corky". The first time Corky saw Patty, he knew she was the one. The day after their first meeting, they attended a dance for the students returning from college. Corky did not initially recognize Patty because she had changed her hairstyle. From that moment on, they were inseparable.  Patty graduated from Hobbs High School in 1963 and went on to attend cosmetology school in New Mexico while waiting until she turned 18 so she could marry Corky with her parent's blessing.

On October 2, 1965, Corky and Patty married at Taylor Memorial Baptist Church in Hobbs, New Mexico. They lived there until Corky joined the Navy, which led to their move to San Diego, California after Corky graduated boot camp. Corky was then stationed in the Philippines and Patty moved back to Hobbs to live between her parents and in-law's homes. After 13 months, Corky returned to San Diego and Patty joined him. Patty had their first child, Christopher Alan, on November 9, 1968. After an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1969, Corky started his career with Texaco in Kermit, Texas and eventually the family moved to Midland, Texas. On July 11, 1972, Kimberly Dawn was born. Patty loved being a wife and mom. She spent her days raising and loving on her children and her husband.

When Chris and Kim reached school age, Patty began working for Midland ISD as an administrative assistant.  She wanted the same holidays and vacations as her children. Nothing was more important than putting her family first in all that she did.

Corky and Patty lived in Midland for 10 years raising their children and spending their weekends fishing, camping and boating at various lakes in the area. In 1980, the family moved to Saugus, California where Patty continued to work as an administrative assistant in the local school district. This would be a short assignment; therefore, Patty took advantage of the time and location to plan excursions everywhere they could including Grunion Run, sand sculpture competitions on Ventura Beach, and the La Brea Tar pits. The kids never knew if money was tight because Patty had a gift for making even the "free stuff" fun.

In 1982, the family moved to Spring, Texas. Patty worked at Brill Elementary in Klein ISD as a librarian aid until she retired in 2003. Corky and Patty joined Champion Forest Baptist Church where they were part of the small groups ministry and frequently attended the university classes. They were favorite hosts for their life group and loved having people in their home.

Patty loved to be creative and express herself through painting on anything that would stand still including canvases, shirts, tables, chairs, and wall murals. She did such an amazing job, people would seek her out to make shirts or paint bedrooms. She enjoyed calligraphy and used her gift to complete certificates for the children she worked with to add that extra special touch. Patty also loved to sew and she made her children's clothing including their jeans. After Kim was married, Patty helped her sew curtains and pillows for her home and would eventually make Renaissance costumes for her granddaughters.

In 2002, Patty became a grandmother when Gabrielle "Ellie" Elizabeth Jordan was born. Her second grandchild, Rebekah "Bekah" Nicole Jordan entered the world in 2004. Ellie and Bekah were two of her greatest joys. She took care of them while their parents were at work and loved spoiling them. She spent time pouring into her granddaughters teaching them all the things she loved including painting cooking, and gardening. In the summers, Corky and Patty would take "the girls" on trips to the hill country, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Mississippi. One of their favorite trips was when they went to Colorado and rode the rapids. Patty was never one to shy away from adventure.

Corky and Patty eventually bought a home on Lake Livingston, remodeled the home and moved there permanently in 2018 so Corky could golf and fish and she would have a place that reminded her of her father and it was a place she found great peace.

Patty loved her family more than anything. She was kind to all and tried to look at everything from a positive point of view. She did not like negativity and tried to come up with ways to turn it around.  She loved the Lord all her life and it showed through all of her actions. She studied God's word and was able to teach others in a way everyone could understand.

Patty went home to be with Jesus on January 13, 2021 while at home with Corky in Livingston, Texas. She was the true heartbeat of her family. The legacy she leaves behind is one of deep love for God, her husband, children and grandchildren. She will be forever missed.

In Memory of
Patricia Patty McCorkle
A gift has been made to
The American Cancer Society
by
The Arthur King Family