Mildred Eunice Patterson, age 96, passed away peacefully at 9:35pm on Friday, November 26, 2021, at her home in Springfield, Missouri.  Mildred was born on June 26, 1925 in Wichita, Kansas to Ben and Lena Freeman.  Times were hard in 1925 and her father Ben sold his car to buy a small farm in Douglas County, Missouri, near Ava and Black Jack. They lived a subsistent lifestyle, her father hunting and farming to feed his family.  They carried water from a nearby spring.  Mildred graduated high school in Ava, Missouri in 1943.

She packed her bags and moved to Springfield, Missouri and graduated from Southwest Missouri State Teacher's College, (which is now Missouri State University) Class of 1949.   Mildred put herself through college working at Cranks Drug Store, where she met and eventually married John A. Patterson, a man 20 years her senior.   Mildred and John owned a printing company in Springfield, and traveled the world until John passed away in 1984.   Mildred ran the printing company "Pat Prints" for several years until she retired and moved to a smaller home in west central Springfield.  In 2008 Mildred sold her home and moved to the Creekside at Elfindale Senior Living Complex.

Mildred was an amazing individual her sharpness of mind never left her, she could speak to almost any topic you wanted to discuss, especially current events. She lived life on her terms and was an inspiration to all who knew her.  Mildred was preceded in death by her father Ben, her mother, Lena Freeman and her husband John A. Patterson. She is survived by her cousin Patricia Wells of Springfield, Gary Miller of Lee's Summit, Missouri, Carol Beth Thompson of Mountain Grove, Christopher Rock of West Plains, and  Peggy Morrow of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Geneva Freeman of Springfield, Deborah Wells of Republic, Elizabeth Trucks, Rebecca Logan, Jane Browne of Springfield and Susan Miller of Ozark, Missouri.

A Graveside Service will be held on Friday, December 3, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. at Maple Park Cemetery.   The service will be officiated by her cousin Gary Miller, under the direction of Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home.