Nellie Maxine Patterson

Nellie Maxine Patterson, daughter of “Papa and Mama” William Glenn and Nellie Lenore (Phillips) Shields was granted her final rest on Thursday March 30^th, 2023. Born July 5, 1935, she was raised on a farm in the beautiful canyon country southwest of McCook, Nebraska, where she would return for much of her adult life for wheat harvest and to celebrate Christmas. Being the youngest of the five surviving children earned her the term of endearment “Baby” which she chaffed at. She, like several of her siblings, went by her middle name, hers owing to her first name being shared with her mother.

Tender hearted, extremely shy and self-conscious, she was never comfortable in social situations, nor cared much for having her picture taken. She was happiest at home with her family. She possessed a fond affinity for animals, especially puppies and kittens, and small children. Despite being born in Big Red country, her favorite color was blue. Playing cards were frowned upon, but the game of Rook was an acceptable form of entertainment that remains today in the extended family, fiercely competitive and lasting into the small hours of the morning.

She was married to Robert R. Patterson, to whom she was introduced by her classmate Sylvia, who happened to be dating his brother. They had two daughters: Holly, whose name was in reference to the season she was due to arrive in of late December (but didn’t show up until mid-January) and Hyacinth, named due to her April arrival. The family also included their “younger brother”, a dachshund named Snoopy, along with a host of cats and many other animals Snoopy tolerated.  

From the boxes and boxes of scrap books and school work that she kept (her own and her daughters), it was evident that she enjoyed her time in that environment. After completing McCook High School in the spring of 1953, she attended two years at McCook Junior College and then completed her teaching degree at Emporia State Teacher’s College. She earned teaching certificates in Nebraska and Kansas and taught at several school districts in both states. She also served as a substitute teacher, occasionally for her daughters’ classes at Schwegler Elementary, and volunteered with their Girl Scout troop activities, most often on field trips and camp outs at Hidden Valley. She taught life skills, preparedness, the love of the outdoors, and a lot of camp fire songs.

Born during the Great Depression, scarcity left her with an inventive approach towards stewardship in cooking, leading to the (accidental?) creation of mackerel patties mixed with peas. Not a family favorite. She was frugal in all aspects of life and resisted luxury or extravagance of any form which explained the reason for her choosing to drive a Ford Pinto station wagon without power breaks or steering, and a minivan with a standard transmission.

She loved to travel, but often felt the walls closing in on her when in the mountains and longed to see the wide-open prairie again. She enjoyed fishing, but was usurped in preparing them by the “camp cook” who pan fried them in cornmeal with the heads on, much to the chagrin of their daughters. She liked to swim as long as she didn’t have to put her head under water. Her favorite flowers to plant were rose moss and morning glories. She kept family heirloom Christmas cactus indoors and had peonies outdoors from offshoots from her family farm at almost every home she lived.

She played the piano and was often an accompanist. She kept a variety of old hymnals, sheet music, primers, and collections tucked into the piano seat and stacked in bedroom closets. Among her favorite pieces, besides church hymns and Christmas carols, were Laura’s Theme from Dr Zhivago, Born Free, and You’ll Never Walk Alone.  With her alto voice, she sang in the church choir and traveled to Romania and Austria with the Lawrence Civic Choir in 1986, where it was also discovered that she had the talent for French braiding hair. She played the accordion and dabbled with the ukulele and mountain dulcimer. It was at her encouragement that her grandson Joshua tried out for the Lawrence Children’s Choir after reading an article in the Lawrence Journal-World about its inception.

She was gifted at sewing, which produced many of the girls’ dresses when they were young; quilting, having learned the craft from her mother; crocheting and knitting which led to the creation of many sweaters and blankets. There are numerous framed pieces of her needlepoint and cross-stitch accomplishments.

She participated briefly in square dancing and was on a bowling team that traveled for tournaments.  Her favorite TV show was Wheel of Fortune.

She worked as an insurance processor in the Business Office in Watkins Health Center at the University of Kansas until retirement, which allowed for more time to travel, including winters in Port Aransas, Texas and numerous bus tours with the Senior Center.

She was born into a family of Christian faith, a long generational tradition in which she did not fail to continue, having been baptized by her home church pastor in 1950. She was a member of First Christian Church in Lawrence, having also attended its satellite congregation Bethany Park, participating in many classes and volunteer roles. She provided the minivan for many of her grandkids’ mission and ski trips, even going along as a sponsor for their trip to serve at an Indian reservation in South Dakota. Reading the Bible was a vital part of her life as evidenced by the number of them she kept, some reinforced with duct tape.  

The family wishes to publicly acknowledge and thank Joe and Shirley Patterson for their many instances of care and comfort throughout her life, her neighbors on Bluestem Drive for watching out for her, and for the excellent care received in her last year from the staff at Neuvant House.

Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by husband Bob, sisters Dorothy Shields and Hazel Collins, brothers Marvin and Rolland Shields, daughter Holly and grandson Thomas.

Survivors include: brother/sister-in-law Harley and Elda Shields, McCook; sister Marjorie McMurtry, Lincoln; sister-in-law Rosemary Shields, Lincoln; brother-in-law/sister-in-law George and Sylvia Patterson, McCook; brother-in-law/sister-in-law Joe and Shirley Patterson, Lawrence; sister-in-law Amanda Barnes, Baldwin City; daughter/son-in-law Hyacinth and Jim Self, Lawrence; grandchildren Joshua, Jillian, Kevin, and Kenton Abel, Tessica Johnson, and Liza Crane; step-grandchildren James Jr., Cynthia (Gustin) Andrews, and Matthew (Alisa) Self; 3 great-grandchildren, 10 step great-grandchildren, and 3 step great-great-grandchildren.

From another of her favorite musicals, Fiddler on the Roof:

“Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years, one season following another, laden with happiness… and tears.”

Services will be held at First Christian Church, 1000 Kentucky in Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday April 22^nd at 10:00 a.m. with burial at Memorial Park afterwards.

Memorial contributions may be made in Maxine’s name to the First Christian Church of Lawrence or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and may be sent in care of Warren McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13^th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.