Patsy (Gibbs) Hamilton

I married Bobby Sunday two weeks after graduation in 1959.  We lived in Paducah and raised our two daughters, Tammy and Renae.

I began working at First National Bank in Paducah in April 1970 and remained a part of the bank's staff until moving to Lubbock in 1986. Bobby worked for J.E. Norris Furniture and Funeral Home for many years. Bobby was involved in many community activities including serving as president of the Paducah Jaycees, the Paducah Ex-Students Association, and the Paducah Chamber of Commerce.  He was very active in the First United Methodist Church, the choir and the Methodist Men's organization.  Bobby was coach and Baseball Commissioner during the time Tammy and Renae played baseball.  He was a former Paducah School Board member.  The Paducah School Yearbook was dedicated to him in 1978.

After Renae graduated from high school, Bobby took a job as a pipeline pilot in Iowa Park . This allowed him to fly, which is something he always wanted to do. He went to work in Iowa Park in November 1983 while I remained in Paducah and looked for employment in the Wichita Falls area. Tammy was working in Lubbock , and Renae was attending college at West Texas State in Canyon.

Bobby and his boss were checking pipelines for leaks on January 11, 1984, when their plane crashed, killing both of them..

I stayed in Paducah for a couple of years, but decided to move to Lubbock . It was a great move for me because it gave me a chance to start over with a bank that was just beginning. I've been in Lubbock ever since.

Bill Hamilton (a Paducah graduate) and I were married in 1989.

. Tammy is married to Doug Hensley (whose parents once lived in Paducah ), and they have two children: Hayden, who was born in 1997, and Kerrigan, born in 2000.

Renae is married to Rebel Roberts, and they also have two children: Bobby, who was born in 2000, and Jackson, who was born in 2004.

Bill's daughter, Tracey, and her husband, Steve, live in Frisco with their baby daughter, Madison (born in 2008).

Our grandchildren range in age from 1 to 12 years old.  The grandchildren are all involved in a variety of activities, including basketball, baseball, and softball, which keep Gram busy throughout the year attending everything from athletic events to dance recitals.

Bill retired from the oil business in 2001.  He works on a part-time basis for Rebel, who has a landscaping business.

I recently felt the impact of the economic slowdown, having lost my job in a workforce reduction that was announced in late January. I am unemployed, but I thoroughly enjoy being home, so I am not sure (right now) if I want to go back to work.