Patricia C. Hester's Obituary
HESTER, PATRICIA CLUNEY, 91, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, died of complications of advanced Parkinson's disease 15 February 2009. The only child of Dr. William Thomas and LaVergne Smith Cluney was born 8 July 1917 in Chicago, IL; spent her early years in Appleton WI; and moved to Miami with her mother and grandmother in 1929. She graduated from Ponce de Leon High School and the University of Miami (1939) and spent 15 years as an elementary school teacher in the Dade County Public School System. She taught at Coconut Grove, Kenwood and Sunset Elementary School among others. In 1943 & 1944, she spent two years in Ecuador as one of the founding teachers of the American School in Guayaquil. When she returned from Ecuador, she resumed teaching in Miami and socialized at the Coral Gables Country Club where she became engaged at a Christmas Party in 1946. She was active in the Perrine-Peters Methodist Church Haizlip Class, the South Dade Chamber of Commerce and the Perrine Civitan Club with her husband, George. In addition , she was active on her own behalf with the Riviera Republican Women's Club and the Zoological Society of Florida. She lobbied hard for the establishment of the new Metro Zoo and suggested the "I'm Francis, Move Me" ad campaign that featured Francis the gorilla. She is preceded in death by her eldest daughter, Barbara Jean (1956), her younger son, James Hardwick (1988) and her husband of 44 years, George T. Hester (1991). She is survived by daughters Nancy Elizabeth and Martha Lorraine, son George T., and grandchildren Margot Patricia, Matthew Ryan, and Hannah Barbara Hester. A viewing is scheduled for Friday, 20 February from 5pm to 7 pm at VAN ORSDEL CORAL GABLES. A Jazz Service, her personal request, will be held at the Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 Desoto Blvd., Coral Gables, at 11:30 am Saturday, 21 February, with interment to follow at Woodlawn Park North Cemetery next to her husband. Donations may be made to The Michael J. Fox foundation for Parkinson's Research at: Tribute Gifts, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780, New York, NY 10008-0780, or through their website, in lieu of flowers. VAN ORSDEL - CORAL GABLES 4600 SW 8 St 305-446-4412 Family Owned Since 1924 www.vanorsdelfuneralchapels.com
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