Patricia Jayne Creasy Wilkerson's Obituary
Patricia Jayne passed away peacefully early Monday morning surrounded by her family following a very brief battle with cancer. She had unbelievable strength right up to the very end of her beautiful life. She is survived in death by her husband, James William Wilkerson, Sr., and her two children Dana (Tom) Giel and James (Courtney) Wilkerson. Her three grandchildren, Maddox Giel, Mallie Wilkerson, and Nora Wilkerson, were the brightest lights in her world, and they will miss their Mimi terribly. Patricia Jayne proudly came from a very large family, and is survived by her siblings Martha Casey, Jerry Guinn, Lewis Guinn, and Wayne Creasy, and was preceded in death by her siblings Franklin Guinn, Catherine Phelps, Juanita Barnes, and Barbara Cochran, as well as her parents, Mallie and A.R. Creasy.Patricia Jayne grew up in Henderson, TN. She met her husband James when they were teenagers, and James says that he started talking to her then and never let her out of his sight since. Their favorite teenage activity was cruising the streets of town in James’s prized ’57 Chevy. When James was drafted into the Army, they wrote love letters faithfully, and these letters were saved and cherished by them both for decades. James proposed via a letter from Germany, and they were married on August 25, 1967 in a simple church ceremony upon his return from military service. They were married for 51 years, and their relationship has served as the ultimate example to their children, grandchildren, and all around them of what God intended marriage to be. Theirs is a true love story of selfless love and dedication that is a rarity in today’s world.Patricia Jayne wore many hats during her lifetime. She initially worked as a surgical nurse in the operating room in Jackson, TN, before moving to Memphis with her husband. She then adeptly picked up a new career of being the bookkeeper for a construction company despite the fact that she had no formal training for the job – she came in one day to help out at the company where James worked when they were short staffed, and she joked that she just never left. When James transferred to a different company, so did she – as James let it be known that they were a package deal. She retired as the comptroller after she turned 70. She was proud to have “kept the books” for over 40 years of her life, but it took some time for her to convince her grandson Maddox that she was not, in fact, a librarian.She loved her family and those around her with a fierceness and selflessness that still amazes them all. Her husband was the center of her world, and she was the center of his. Her two children, Dana and Jamie, were her pride and joy, and she never missed an opportunity to brag on either one of them. They were the lights of her life, at least until her grandchildren were born – at which time Dana and Jamie quickly realized that they had been surpassed in the pecking order of importance in the family. Maddox, Mallie, and Nora made her smile like no others could, and she absolutely delighted in them. She would gladly talk about them for hours to any who would listen. She also loved her son-in-law, Tom, and her daughter-in-law, Courtney, as if they were her own children – a trait in a mother-in-law that many people never experience. Beyond her immediate family, she enjoyed taking care of anyone whom she felt needed it, and even some who weren’t quite aware that they needed her help. Her self-determined mission was to love and serve others in the most self-sacrificing of ways. She lived every day of her life with a smile while never thinking of herself and always putting herself last. She was stubborn and independent, traits taught to her by a long line of very strong women in her family, but this was always borne from a place of love for others. She was famous for her home cooking, her fear of spiders (and anything with more than 4 legs), her love for others, her desire to take care of those around her, and her deep dedication to her family. She was the rock for so many she has left behind, and she will be profoundly missed.The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at Memorial Park Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 4, 2018 also at Memorial Park Funeral Home. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery.
What’s your fondest memory of Patricia?
What’s a lesson you learned from Patricia?
Share a story where Patricia's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Patricia you’ll never forget.
How did Patricia make you smile?