Margaret Patten Obituary

Former Bayfield resident Margaret Gaukel Patten died in Sun City, Ariz., on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. She was 92.

Known as "Margo," she was born to Charles and Anna Gaukel in Jireh, Wyo., on Sept. 21, 1916. She grew up on the family ranch three miles south of town.

On June 11, 1933, she married James S. Patten in Douglas, Wyo. They lived in the Manville and Keeline areas of Wyoming, where they farmed and ranched. Mr. Patten also taught school and worked for Continental Oil Co.

In 1954, the Pattens moved to Fort Morgan with Continental Oil. Twelve years later, the Pattens were transferred to Durango and, in 1967, to Casper, Wyo. In 1969, Mr. Patten took an early retirement, and the couple moved to Bayfield, where they lived for 26 years. Starting in 1980, the Pattens wintered in Sun City, Ariz. They moved to a condo in Durango in 1995, and in 2000 moved to Arizona full time.

Mrs. Patten was active in Catholic Church circles and 4-H. She was a member of St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church in Bayfield for more than 25 years.

She served on the board of directors of the Camp Fire Girls, was a Cub Scout Den Mother and served as the Parent-Teachers Association historian. She was a member of Sew & Sew, handicraft and knitting Clubs. She loved to waltz and do the foxtrot and enjoyed square and line dancing.

Her family said Mrs. Patten's failing eyesight was the most devastating thing that happened to her during her life, because she could no longer do the things she enjoyed. Mrs. Patten was legally blind for more than 10 years.

Mrs. Patten was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, James Patten, and one grandson.

She is survived by her daughters Vivian Joy of Ely, Nev., and Sonora, Texas, Winona Munari of Laramie, Wyo., and Marcia Stoddard Elkins of Sun City, Ariz.; sons James L. Patten of Taylorsville, Utah, and Martin Patten of Aurora; sisters Ruby Simon and Anna Nelson, both of Torrington, Wyo.; 16 grandchildren; 29 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.

The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 19, 2009, at Hood Mortuary Chapel.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday, April 20, 2009, at St. Bartholomew's Catholic Church in Bayfield.