Virginia Phifer Patton

Murfreesboro, TN resident and Warren County, TN native Virginia Phifer Patton, age 84, was born December 13, 1931 and died January 16, 2016 at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro following an extended illness. A member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Forest and Mary Boyd Phifer. She was married May 27, 1949 to Don Patton who preceded her in death in 2006. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by three brothers, James, "Pip" and Cliff Phifer; and sister, Gert Brady. She is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Dollie Virginia and Jacky Ray Davis of Nashville, TN and Melissa Ann and Larry Copeland of Nashville, TN; three grandchildren and spouses, Lauren and Chris Dowdy of Dallas, TX, Courtney and Kyle Mayfield of Nashville, TN and Ben and Hayley Mitchell of Austin, TX; seven great-grandchildren, Silas Dowdy, Leighton, Brooke and Hudson Mayfield, and Ainsley, Blakely and Jaxon Mitchell; and sister, Sue Brock of Smyrna, TN. Don and Virginia both grew up in McMinnville, and attended Central High School together, where they became high school sweethearts. They lived in North Carolina for a year while Don was in the Marines during 1953, then they moved back to McMinnville. They later moved with their family to LaFayette, GA in 1962, and then to Nashville in 1976. They retired to Altamont, TN in 1993, and lived there until Don died in 2006. Mrs. Patton did office and secretarial work for several places, including the Department of Family and Children's Services in LaFayette, and in real estate and accounting offices in Nashville. She loved to travel, especial with her husband, and they traveled all over with his job, especially out west. She also traveled to several foreign countries doing mission work (Czechoslovakia, New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand). She loved gardening, pretty flowers and hummingbirds, she was a great cook, and enjoyed sharing all these things with family and friends. She especially loved doing anything with her three grandchildren, and she was lovingly called "Granny". She was very, very special to them as well as to her two daughters and their husbands, and to "Pafie", her husband of 57 years. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, April 10, 2016 at the chapel of Cannonsburgh Village, 312 S. Front Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37129. Friends and family will gather to visit following the service in the gazebo next to the chapel from 2:30 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Worldvision.org or Second Harvest Food Bank.