Patricia Copleston Zavaleta died at the age of 84 after a brief illness on Thursday, January 17, 2013, in Chapel Hill, NC. She was born Patricia Inez Copleston on January 28, 1928 in Charleston, SC, to Mabel Goodwin and William Ortman Copleston.
Her family moved to Georgetown, SC, in 1936 to open a dry cleaning business. She attended Winyah High School there, then Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC. She completed her BS in Nursing at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 1950 before becoming a Registered Nurse.
Patricia joined the nursing staff at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, where she met her future husband, Dr. Alberto Anibal Zavaleta, a surgical resident at Duke. They were married in 1953 in Georgetown, SC.
They moved to Thomasville in 1961. Patricia was active in the Junior Service League, Thomasville Entertainment Foundation and volunteered with Red Cross blood drives. She sang in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church Choir for a number of years and was a known whistler.
She also participated in Archbold Hospital's Women's Auxilliary, was a Scouting Troop Leader and volunteered in numerous school functions. She loved playing tennis with "the girls" at Glen Arven Country Club and had a mean backhand.
In 2004, she moved to an assisted living home in Mount Pleasant near Charleston, SC. She was known by the staff there as "Zee Zee" and was voted Miss Congeniality by the residents.
Patricia was preceded in death by her son Richard Neal Zavaleta, her daughter Linda Jane Zavaleta and husband Dr. Alberto Anibal Zavaleta.
She is survived by her sister, Jane Copleston Martin; three sons, David William Zavaleta, Robert Brian Zavaleta and Alberto Anibal Zavaleta, Jr.; 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to a hospice of your choice.
A memorial service for Patricia will be held at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Thomasville, GA on Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 2pm. Guests may sign the online register at www.allenfh.com .
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Patricia Copleston Zavaleta, please visit our flower store.
Her family moved to Georgetown, SC, in 1936 to open a dry cleaning business. She attended Winyah High School there, then Winthrop College in Rock Hill, SC. She completed her BS in Nursing at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 1950 before becoming a Registered Nurse.
Patricia joined the nursing staff at Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC, where she met her future husband, Dr. Alberto Anibal Zavaleta, a surgical resident at Duke. They were married in 1953 in Georgetown, SC.
They moved to Thomasville in 1961. Patricia was active in the Junior Service League, Thomasville Entertainment Foundation and volunteered with Red Cross blood drives. She sang in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church Choir for a number of years and was a known whistler.
She also participated in Archbold Hospital's Women's Auxilliary, was a Scouting Troop Leader and volunteered in numerous school functions. She loved playing tennis with "the girls" at Glen Arven Country Club and had a mean backhand.
In 2004, she moved to an assisted living home in Mount Pleasant near Charleston, SC. She was known by the staff there as "Zee Zee" and was voted Miss Congeniality by the residents.
Patricia was preceded in death by her son Richard Neal Zavaleta, her daughter Linda Jane Zavaleta and husband Dr. Alberto Anibal Zavaleta.
She is survived by her sister, Jane Copleston Martin; three sons, David William Zavaleta, Robert Brian Zavaleta and Alberto Anibal Zavaleta, Jr.; 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to a hospice of your choice.
A memorial service for Patricia will be held at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Thomasville, GA on Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 2pm. Guests may sign the online register at www.allenfh.com .
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