Pat Bateman

Longtime Shawnee resident Patricia S. Bateman passed away Saturday, May 10, 2008, at Baptist Integris Hospital of Oklahoma City after a short battle with cancer, at the age of 72.
Pat dedicated her life to the church and local and state politics. She was a candidate for Oklahoma Sate Representative and served on several Democratic committees. Pat spent countless hours in the service of the local community as an AARP representative and leader in several church outreach programs.
Patricia was a R.N. and after working for 10 years at All Saints hospital in Ft. Worth, Texas. She moved to Shawnee and became director of Co. Edd Area Agency on Aging and was a forceful advocate for the elderly population in Oklahoma.
Pat was born Sept. 15, 1935, in McCain County, Okla. She met and married the love of her life, Roy A. Knight Jr., a young man from Texas who was serving in the Air Force under her father while they were stationed in the Philippines. Their marriage was a blessed union that was completed by the arrival of three children, two of which were born overseas. The family traveled the world but found themselves back in Texas in the mid 1960s as the Vietnam War heated up. Roy was an Air Force fighter pilot who volunteered for duty in Vietnam. The family’s world changed dramatically when Roy was shot down over Laos and was never returned.
The loss of her husband thrust Patricia into a single mother’s world in 1967 with three young children. She did the best she could to keep things stable as she worked on her nursing degree at Texas Christian University in fort Worth, Texas. After completing her degree, she worked as a nurse at All Saints Hospital in Fort Worth.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Madge Henderson and her brother, David Henderson.
Patricia is survived by her three children, Roy A. Knight III and wife Phyllis of Escondido, Calif., Gayann Knight of Austin, Texas, and her youngest Bryan Knight of Melbourne, Fla.; she was blessed with four grandchildren, Shea Knight, Ryan Knight, Bryan Crone, and Jessica Merrill; the most recent joy that was added to her life were births of three great-grandchildren, twins Edith and Abigail Knight and Jack Knight; she is also survived by her bother, Gary Henderson and his wife Amelia.
Everyone who knew Pat soon learned that her life was dedicated to her church and the Democratic Party. She was a strong and independent woman who was not afraid to share her views of the world. She waged many battles for the elderly and those she thought needed her help. She was a very beautiful and intelligent woman with an artistic flare and extreme fondness for animals she rescued and spoiled rotten. Pat as a very remarkable woman and she will be missed greatly.
We would like to thank the many doctors and nurses at Integris Baptist Hospital sixth flor CCU for their outstanding care and love they gave our mother during her illness. We would also like to send a very special thank you and our great appreciation to Jacque Strozier-Roberts for being our mother’s best friend and partner in crime for many years. We are certain she enjoyed her life much more with Jacque in it.
Service was held Friday, May 16, 2008, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Shawnee.
Memorials may be sent to The Altar Guild or The Society of Mary c/o Emmanuel Episcopal, 501 N. Broadway, Shawnee, OK 74801.