Patricia Ann Hunt

Patricia Ann Thorpe Hunt, 80, of Ilsley, KY, died from complications of COVID-19 at Baptist Health in Madisonville, KY on Sunday, December 20, 2020.



Pat, the eighth of nine children, was born in Ilsley to John Clyde and Helen Mathis Thorpe on March 17, 1940. She loved to tell stories about her large family and rambunctious childhood, which she always did with laughter and enthusiasm. Pat graduated from South Hopkins High School in 1958, where she was voted Best All Around, as well as Miss South Hopkins. She also served as the drum major of the South Hopkins Marching 100.



Following graduation, Pat married her sweetheart, Jimmy Hunt, of Menser, KY, on July 2, 1958. He proposed to her with a diamond ring he purchased at the jewelry store in the New Century Hotel in Dawson Springs, KY. Though they could not celebrate their 62nd anniversary with others this year because of the pandemic, Pat and Jim celebrated together with a surprise cake that had been added to their grocery pick-up order.



Young Pat worked at South Hopkins High School, Kavanaugh’s IGA, the Dawson Daylight Company Store, Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, and for her father’s and brother’s cab station in Madisonville. She then trained to be an X-Ray Technician at Trover Clinic in Madisonville and worked as an X-Ray Technician both there and at Outwood State Hospital and School in Dawson Springs. The children of Outwood always held a special place in her heart. Later in life, Pat embarked on a second career as an insurance agent for the American General Corporation.



Pat was the devoted mother of two children, Chris and Carrie, for whom there was nothing she would not do. Among many other important duties, she served as a member of the PTA, field trip chaperone, band booster, room mother, driver, and Brownie troop leader. Additionally, she organized and decorated parade floats and many PTA fall festival booths. For those booths, her motto was always, “the tackier, the better.”



She was a treasured aunt to many nieces and nephews whom she loved like her own children. Toward the end of her life, she found herself a beloved extended family matriarch which was a role she cherished. As a testament to this, during her final hours, she received numerous telephone calls from many of those nieces and nephews who wanted to tell her they loved her just one more time.



Pat never met a stranger and always greeted everyone she saw with her beautiful smile. Her warm nature earned her countless friends, especially in the Ilsley and Dawson Springs communities. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Dawson Springs, the Methodist Women, and a 60-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Dawson Springs Chapter #133.



Pat was an extremely creative person. She took up numerous arts-and-crafts over the years, including pencil and charcoal sketches, watercolors, oils, crochet (which she learned to do from a friend over the phone), floral arrangement, and many others. Pat was also musically gifted. In addition to singing, she could play the piano, clarinet, snare drum, and guitar, all almost entirely by ear. She loved to dance, and to some, she was affectionately known as the “Queen of The Stroll.”



Pat was probably best known for her outgoing nature, and her fabulous senses of humor and style. She had the most beautiful laugh, and she always liked to go “looking good.” Once, when she was told a hair appointment might have to be missed due to inclement weather, she replied, “I’m going, if I have to call an ambulance.”



Pat was a legendary cook, as anyone who has sat at her table can attest. Her homemade pies were practically famous. She loved ice cream, but she loved nothing more than a peanut butter milkshake. During one of her later hospital stays she informed one of her visiting children, “I do not want to see you here again unless you have a peanut butter milkshake for me in hand.” Over the years, other family members learned to arrive for such visits with peanut butter milkshakes, too.



Though it has now ended, Pat Hunt’s life was the most well-lived of lives. Those of us who knew her are lucky to have had her while we did. She will always live on in our memories, and, it is hoped, also in our lives and actions. She was certainly one-of-a-kind.



Patricia Hunt is survived by her husband Jimmy of Ilsley; her son James Christopher of Washington, DC; her daughter Carrie Helen (Mike Kelly) LeFevre of Charleston, WV; numerous adored nieces and nephews; and countless friends whose lives she touched.



She is preceded in death by her parents John Clyde and Helen Mathis Thorpe; four brothers, Willard O. Thorp, James Floyd Thorp, John Clyde Thorpe Jr., and R.L. Thorpe; four sisters, Kathryn Gresham, Juanita Thorpe, Mildred Jane Russell, and Elizabeth Lantrip; two nephews, Tommy O. Thorp and John Edward Thorp; two nieces, Karen Elizabeth Thorpe and Nancy Ann Thorpe; a great-niece, Melissa Ann Thorp; and two great-nephews, Jon Thomas Russell and Donald Glenn “D.J.” Hartsock Thorp.



The family would like to thank the all the physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, case managers, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, lab technicians, x-ray technicians, pharmacists, and other staff members at Baptist Health Madisonville who cared for Pat during her illness. Additionally, the family would like to say a special “thank you” to nurses Marlena Eversole and Laquita Rector, who lovingly cared for her during her final hours.



A Virtual Service will be held for Patricia Ann Hunt on Saturday, January 2, 2021 at 2:00 PM CST at Beshear Funeral Home, Dawson Springs, KY with Pastor Kathy Redden, Pastor Holly Divine and Elder Jeff Winfrey officiating. Burial will follow at Menser Cemetery in Menser, Kentucky. Mrs. Hunt’s service will be streamed live on Beshear Funeral Home Facebook beginning at 2:00 PM CST on Saturday, January 2, 2021. (Due to the infectious nature of covid-19 the visitation and service will not be open physically to the public. The family very much desires your love, prayers and participation through the safe viewing of the Virtual Service. (To view the Virtual Service: “Google” beshearfuneralhomefacebook and select “videos” among the menu options).



Pallbearers include Willie Adams, Jacob Adams, Jeremiah Adams, Mike Lantrip, David Lee Thorp and Chad Baldwin.



To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Patricia Hunt, please visit our Tribute Store. In memory of Pat, you may also donate to her favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.