Natalie Patricia Hutchens "Patsy" Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

HUTCHENS, Natalie Patricia (Patsy) November 6, 1928 – June 29, 2022 Patsy Hutchens was born in Peking, China, the daughter of Natasha Speshnev and Prior Ledgerwood, she a Russian ex-patriot and he an American military attache. At the age of three Patsy’s mother died and in 1933 she moved with her father to Oklahoma to grow up in her father’s hometown of Mill Creek where she attended school and graduated Valedictorian of her class. Patsy attended Murray State School of Agriculture (now Murray State College) where she met and married Reid Hutchens. They attended Oklahoma A&M College in Stillwater, OK, and returned to Tishomingo to raise their family and where he joined his father in the Hutchens Chevrolet dealership, then located on Kemp just south of Main Street. Patsy and Reid were married 71 years until his passing in 2019. Daughters Kathy and Vicki were born and raised in Tishomingo and son Jimmy who was lost to cystic fibrosis in 1966. Patsy led an active life in Tishomingo. She was a member of the First Baptist Church where she sang in the choir, served as Sunday School Superintendent, President of the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), director of the Nursery department and director of the church’s Building and Grounds committee. Patsy was chairman of a major renovation of the church and wrote the church history for its anniversary celebration. The oldest study club in Oklahoma, Tishomingo Daughters, tapped Patsy as its President. She led the group in a City Cemetery improvement project mapping out the locations of the five Oklahoma governors buried there. Live theater was a love of Patsy’s and she helped to organize a community theater group called “The Way, Way, Way Off Broadway Players.” She directed and produced several plays including community favorites “Steel Magnolias” and “The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever.” Patsy not only got her children involved in the 4H Club, she was also a club leader, co-directing and producing several state winning “Share the Fun” acts. She was chairman of the Johnston Country Mental Health Association and the Johnston County Tuberculosis Association (now the Lung Association). Community leadership was a major contribution of Patsy’s. She was President of the Johnston County Chamber of Commerce and started the first annual Trout Derby on Blue River and as well as the Chickasaw Festival. She also designed and wrote the first promotional leaflet for visitors to the city. Patsy was elected mayor of Tishomingo in the early 1990’s and served as a member of the City Council. She was instrumental in making the transition to a City Manager form of city government. Patsy was a “mobile librarian” operating the Bookmobile for the Chickasaw library system before an actual library was established. Later she owned and operated The Western Store located on Main Street in Tishomingo She was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Murray State College. Patsy believed that travel offered such great learning experiences. Together she and Reid sailed on all major oceans and rivers, even going into the Artic Circle. They visited every major continent and most major cities in the world. Her favorite trips included an African safari and numerous visits to Paris and southern France to see the art museums there. Upon Reid’s retirement in 1993, the couple moved to Oklahoma City. They joined the Westminster Presbyterian church and Patsy realized one of the most enduring passions of her life, ballroom dancing. In the beginning she not only danced, she helped produce and edit dance tapes for adults and children with her business partner at the time. She danced competitively right up until her death at age 93. Along with her present business partner, Darren Fernandez, she produced Savoy, A Dance Extravaganza, providing a portion of the proceeds to the Oklahoma City Cystic Fibrosis Association. Patsy co-owned 3Sixty Entertainment Powerhouse, a ballroom dance studio on Cherokee Plaza in Oklahoma City offering a complete program of dance lessons and events. The company provided dancers for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Riversport. In addition to ballroom showcase events, Patsy and team have for several years produced the dance portion of “Dancing for a Miracle,” an annual fundraising event for the Children’s Hospital Foundation. In 2018 she received the “Hero of the Year, Partners in Miracles” award from the Foundation. Her career as a dancer involved beautiful ballroom dancing performances in her studio-produced shows and winning dance competitions around the country in Waltz, Cha-Cha, Swing, Bolero and more. One month before her passing, Patsy performed in the Oklahoma City Senior Follies. She was a Follies Beauty and also danced a Michael Jackson number, moonwalking across the stage to the delight of all. Patsy lived her life to the fullest and influenced many with her work ethic, honesty and fun-loving spirit. She is preceded in death by husband Reid in 2019 and son Jimmy in 1966. Patsy is survived by her half-sister, Lucinda Ledgerwood Gavin of Yuba City, CA, and daughters Susan Kathleen (Kathy) Leonard of Dallas, TX, and Victoria Ruth (Vicki) Cunningham of Tulsa. Her surviving grandchildren are Holly V. Hetrick Thompson, Jason Reid Carter and wife Erin, and step-grandchildren, Lana Cunningham Embry and husband Rick, and Brad Cunningham and wife Anne. Great grandchildren are Sydney and Cassidy Shannon, Aubrie Thompson, John Reid Carter, Jake Huff, Lindsey and Will Cunningham. Funeral services will be at the First Baptist Church of Tishomingo on Friday, July 8. At 1:00 PM. A festive Celebration of Life will be held to honor Patsy at the 3Sixty Powerhouse Entertainment studio in Oklahoma City on Sunday, July 17.

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Natalie Patricia Hutchens "Patsy"

November 6, 1928 - June 29, 2022