PATSY (PAT) FAYE BONDS O'HARA

Pat O’Hara passed away peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, at Oaks of Braselton Horizons Memory Care in Hoschton, Georgia.

She was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on May 12, 1937, to James C. Bonds and Mary Helen Bonds. Her father passed away when she was only 1 in a hotel fire in Atlanta. She was raised in Knoxville by her mother and lived with her grandparents Bill and Marie Steele until her mother moved to Chattanooga in 1949. She graduated from Chattanooga City High in 1955. She married Gene O’Hara in 1960, and they were transferred to Minot, North Dakota, where their three daughters were born. They also lived in Madison, Wisconsin, and Chattanooga, Tennessee. They transferred to Sumter in 1967, where she continued to reside until moving to Oaks of Braselton in 2020.

Pat was a professional secretary for many years, and in 1976, she passed and obtained a Certified Professional Secretaries certificate from the CPS National Secretaries Association (International). In 1976, she was awarded a mention in the Personalities of the South in the Bicentennial edition. In 1977, she was nominated as Secretary of the Year. In 1980, she started her own company, O’Hara Help, which provided secretarial services to local businesses. She was a member of the Business and Professional Women’s Club for many years.

Pat was a superb seamstress and quilter. Her quilted jacket designs were showcased at Sumter County Gallery of Art, and she was selected Guild Artist of the Month in March 2018. She was also a prolific painter, and her work was regularly displayed at Sumter Gallery of Art. She also enjoyed creating jewelry, crocheting and knitting and ballroom dancing.

She loved to travel, vacationing in London, Italy and Ireland.

One of her favorite things was rocking babies in the NICU at Tuomey Hospital.

She attended St. Jude Catholic Church, Sumter Church of the Nazarene and St. John’s Methodist Church. She was a regular member attendee at Shepherd Center of Sumter, where she enjoyed their luncheons, trips, craft classes and hymn singing.

She is survived by her sister, Carolynn B. Ensminger; daughters, Katherine “Boots” O’Hara, Theresa O’Hara and Angela (Glenn) Dukes; two grandchildren, Toby (Lauren) Dukes and Maggie Dukes; and one great-grandson, Dallas Lloyd, in addition to several nieces and nephews.

She is also survived by a very special “grand-dog,” Chantway Kaleidoscope, whom she loved dearly.

A special heartfelt thank you to the staff and caregivers at Oaks of Braselton Horizons Memory Care.

A private memorial will be held at a later date.