Mary Louise (Stevenson) Patterson, 90, of Jefferson City passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, surrounded by family.

Mary was born in Long Beach, California on June 16, 1934, daughter of the late Marion and Louise (Merrill) Stevenson. She graduated from the University of Redlands (CA) in 1954 and the Good Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing (Los Angeles) in 1956 and achieved her license as a registered nurse.

On December 1,1962, she married Raymond (Dean) Patterson at South United Methodist Church in Manchester, Connecticut. Although she retained her nursing license for several years, Mary was a homemaker, quintessential volunteer, and lifelong learner while raising her three children and supporting Dean.

Mary’s life was filled with the joy of faith, gardening, music, service, fellowship, and fun.

She met few challenges or adventures she would not undertake or master. She was an avid fisherman and especially for salmon in Lake Michigan or deep-sea fishing off the Outer Banks. She learned quilting from her dear Amish friends in Pennsylvania and worked on dozens of quilts. She learned basketweaving and made complex wooden baskets for years and ran the church fair. She was a very competitive board game and card player and played bridge until shortly before passing. She baked bread for 50 years for the sheer relief of punching it down to relieve stress. Her hospitality was well-known, and together with Dean, hosted New Year’s Eve parties for years. She was an avid gardener of flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables, and her ambitious gardening efforts and well-known green thumb made every home more beautiful. She loved classical music, and especially the great oratorios of Handel, Bach and Beethoven with a little Rodgers, Hammerstein, Gilbert and Sullivan thrown in for romance and comedy. Her love of the cello took her to repeated California State Orchestra achievements in high school, and together with her friends, formed a string quartet, taking their instruments on Los Angeles public transportation to various concerts and performances. She sang in college in the chapel choir and later in the church choir. She was an avid fan of Davidson College (NC) basketball and the Kansas City Chiefs. She loved Travis Kelce before he met Taylor Swift.

She worked with the physically and mentally handicapped for several years, running after school programs to help give parents and caregivers a free afternoon. She was a hospice volunteer with her mother (also a registered nurse). She helped start a drug rehab program for young women in 1974 and served as the non-profit’s first female President.

Those are the things Mary “did”.  But what defined her was her faith. Since her profession of faith in 1974, Mary centered her life on an unwavering quest to be a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ. She and Dean set out on an adventure of faith, service, and helping others. Together, they completed discipleship training with the Navigators in 1983 and ministered in discipling other young couples, helping hundreds of people know a fuller life of faith, devotion, and growth. She was a member of Community Bible Study for over 35 years and taught young children for 25 years in the program. In Kansas City, she and Dean worked with International Students, Inc. (ISI) and opened their home, pantry, and know-how to over 30 international students starting graduate programs, welcoming them to the community with housing, furniture, and household necessities, cooking them meals, and helping them understand the mid-America culture. When she moved to Jefferson City in late-2022, she joined Women on Wednesday (WoW) at First Assembly of God and became a member of Freshwater Church in Jefferson City. With her husband, she served as a short-term missionary in Ukraine for four separate trips.

She is survived by her husband, Raymond Dean Patterson of Jefferson City, a daughter, Suzanne Lynn Delmege (Jim) of North Chili, New York; two sons, Nelson Patterson (Debra Moore Patterson) of Jefferson City and James Patterson (Martha Ashcroft Patterson) of Parkville, Missouri; one brother, John Stevenson (Valerie) of San Diego, California; eight grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. Her brother, Alan Stevenson, preceded her in death. She was also the honorary grandmother to countless children of the international students she nurtured in Kansas City.

A memorial service will be held in the future for family and friends.

Memorials may be directed to: Music Mission Kiev Widow’s Ministry, PO Box 161849, Altamonte Springs, FL 32716.

Services entrusted to Trimble Funeral Homes – Jefferson City. trimblefunerals.com