Patricia Lee Atkins

PATRICIA "PAT" LEE ATKINS, 91, Transitioned into Love on July 16, 2026 in Grand Haven, Michigan. She was born on December 28,1934 in Ironton, Ohio to Eloise and James Gray.

Pat graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in1953 and then attended Western Michigan University for one year. During this time Pat was married and working while her husband obtained his undergraduate degree and then with her first child underfoot, she completed her Bachelor's in Education at Hope College in Holland Michigan in 1961.

Pat was a beloved high school teacher starting her career at the American School in the Hague and raising three children with her husband who was pursuing his doctorate degree at the University of Leiden. They lived in the town of Leiden, a suburb of the Hague in the Netherlands. Pat moved to Sarasota Florida in 1969 and taught high school English and Psychology. Pat taught at both Sarasota and Riverview High Schools alongside her husband, John for another 30 years, retiring in 1999. Pat and John loved to travel the world and they took several sabbaticals teaching together at American Schools in Europe, including Prague and Antwerp; and, received a grant to travel to China to learn about Chinese life, culture, and educational systems, in return for making educational presentations about their experience upon their return to Sarasota.

Pat was a devout Christian and for her this meant to be of service, usually in partnership with her husband. Her teaching career included teaching high school drop-outs and troubled teens often letting them stay at her house after their parents kicked them out. She would always stick up for the underdog and help those in need without asking for anything in return. She was a huge animal lover and took care of many during her life. After retiring from 33 years of teaching, Pat and her husband John would both volunteer tutoring disadvantaged children learning to read and just loving them. They would find all the widows and widowers in their neighborhood and take them shopping or to lunch or visit them in nursing homes until it was their turn. They had pictures on the walls of generations of sponsored children in Africa and South America with charities like "Feed The Children" and kept corresponding with them throughout their lives.

Pat was preceded in death by her beloved husband John P. Atkins, her parents James and Eloise Gray; and, by her brother Fred Gray.

SURVIVORS

Children Joseph Rhem, David (Lori) Rhem, Susan (Dan) Rhem-Westhoff, Laurie (Scott) West, Kevin (Karen) Atkins; Grandchildren, Scott, Jr. (Shannon), Jonathan, Alex, Brandon, Jake (Jenny), Courtney (Ben), Tyler, Richard, Joseph, Mya, Catherine (Mike), Sarah (Rob), Mark (Lauren), Sam, Sarah, Danielle; and, Great Grandchildren, Addison, Lucy, Amelia, Luella, Izzy, Henry, Archer, Louis, Remi, Amelia, Liam, and Beckham.

Cremation will take place and no public services are planned. Please visit www.clockfuneralhome.com to leave a memory or sign the guestbook.