Patricia Davison, 82

Patricia Davison, 82, of Gardnerville, Nev., died from natural causes Friday, May 25, 2007, at the Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center. It was her birthday.

Memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today, May 29, 2007, at Carson Valley United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Pete Nelson officiating. Services also will be held at a later date in Kalispell, where Patty lived before moving to Nevada six years ago. Arrangements and cremation are by FitzHenry's Carson Valley Funeral Home.

Patty was born May 25, 1925, in Seattle, the daughter of William and Agnes (Lovejoy) Shannon. Her father was a prominent construction engineer, and the family's early years were spent at various hydroelectric projects throughout the West Coast and Pacific Northwest. Seattle always was considered home, and patty graduated from Garfield High School there before attending the University of Washington. She later graduated from the George Washington University.

In 1945, she married Dixon Rice, a dashing career U.S. Navy pilot. After World War II, she joined him at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where their first child, Dixon Jr., was born in a Quonset hut. Daughter Robin was born two years later in Annapolis, Md., followed by sons Andy in Columbus, Ohio, and Lauren in Fairfax, Va. After a move to Mercer Island, Wash., they divorced in 1963. Patty later married Jim Weatherford, a widowed Seattle funeral director, and adopted his infant son, Marty. The family came to Kalispell in the early 1970s to open Weatherford Funeral Home. After the marriage ended, Patty kept ownership of the funeral home for another decade.

In 1982, she married Marcus Nichols, a widowed rancher from Geraldine. They lived in Lakeside for a number of years before moving to Kalispell several years before his death from cancer in 2000.

She married soulmate Bill Davison in Kalispell the next year, and he survives her at the family home in Gardnerville. Also surviving Patty are her children: Dixon and Mitsi Rice of Kalispell, Robin and Dave Nelson of Redmond, Wash., Andy and Janice Rice of Minden, Nev., Lauren and Brenda Rice of San Diego, Marty Weatherford of Seattle, Nona Weatherford of Seattle, and Scott Weatherford of Redmond, Wash. She also is survived by numerous grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a number of nieces and nephews. Patty was preceded in death by her parents; brother William D. Shannon of Seattle; and sister Mary George of Honolulu.

Patty had been active in Eastern Star, GOP organizations, Alpha Phi sorority, as a hospital volunteer, and many civic and charitable organizations. Music was a lifelong interest, and she was active in her church's choir, often as a soloist. She enjoyed reading, playing bridge, solving crossword puzzles, and being surrounded by her grandchildren. Education was important to Patty, and she made sure all her grandchildren had the opportunity for a college education. She also loved travel, and she and Bill had completed a world cruise shortly before her final illness.

Friends are encouraged to hug a small child, and to make memorial contributions to a charity of their choice.