Obituary of Patricia S. Malone

Pat Malone passed away on Friday, March 13, 2020, at the age of 89, in Tulsa, OK. She was an accomplished artist; an enthusiastic flower gardener; a fun and devoted mother of dogs and the three girls she birthed; and a loving partner to her husband. She was born Patricia Sue Lynn on Dec. 3, 1930, in Kansas City, Mo., to Frances Juanita (Hopkins) Lynn and Ralph John Lynn. Pat married Charles Edward Malone on April 13, 1958, in Tulsa. Pat’s artwork is part of her legacy. She enjoyed a long career as an accomplished, nationally recognized fine artist. Museums and galleries across the nation have exhibited her work, which hangs in public and private collections in the United States and Europe. She is particularly known for her watercolors, which earned her election into the American Watercolor Society as well as other national and regional groups. Pat’s work is featured in numerous publications and books, including “Splash – America’s Best Contemporary Watercolors,” “The New Spirit of Watercolor” and “Watermedia: Processes and Possibilities.” She first pursued her art education at the hand of her mother, Frances, who in the late 1920s became one of the first artists to design cards for Kansas City-based Hallmark. Pat furthered her art education at the Kansas City Art Institute, the University of Tulsa and the College of Santa Fe. She was active for many years in a life-drawing group that gathered weekly at Philbrook Art Museum and in a portrait-artists collective at Whiteside Park & Recreation Center. She was a long-time contributor of her artwork to numerous Tulsa charities to support their fund-raising efforts. Pat also featured her work for many years in the Philbrook Festival of Trees, with a best-of-show award for a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired light fixture; the Mayfest Invitational Gallery; and the Tulsa Artists’ Coalition 5x5 show. Up until the last days of her life, Pat enjoyed painting watercolors and sketching flowers in the studio at her home on campus at Oklahoma Methodist Manor in Tulsa. Early in her childhood during the Great Depression, she and her parents strapped all of their belongings to their car and emigrated from Kansas City, Mo., to California in pursuit of a better life. Their California experience was brief, and not better, so they returned to ride out the Depression in Kansas City. Before she married, Pat lived and worked in San Francisco for a brief, but formative time. She later made her home in Tulsa and worked as a commercial artist for KTUL. Pat was the first mother to give birth to identical twins at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa. During their childhood, Pat enjoyed sewing matching clothing for the twin girls – and non-matching clothing for her eldest daughter. Pat is survived by family in Tulsa: Daughters Kerry L. Malone Stancavage, Lori L. Malone and Lisa B. Malone (spouse Jody A. Tidwell); grandchildren Molly Megan Malone Tidwell, Kaitlyn Beth Malone Tidwell, Lillian Frances Swearingen and Spencer Truman Swearingen. She also is survived by her cousin Betty (Elizabeth Ann Theresa) Lynn of Mount Airy, N.C. As well, Pat is survived by her step-daughter Gloria Smith, of Virginia, and her family: daughters Angela Covey, of Florida, and Amanda Carruthers, of Virginia, and their daughters Lauren Covey, California, and Olivia Carruthers and Amelia Carruthers, of Virginia. Her husband of 56 years, Charles Malone, her son-in-law John J. Stancavage, and dogs Joff, Buttons, Prissy, Cricket, Tenby, Ruffy, Dixie, Buddy and Bella (#1 of 2) preceded her in death. Due to public health concerns, a memorial service for Pat will be held at a later date. Ninde Brookside Chapel 918-742-5556. www.ninde.com