Patricia “Patsy” Shaffer, wife of Weldon “Jake” Shaffer for 56 years, passed peacefully on Saturday morning, December 5, 2020, surrounded by loved ones, in the home of her youngest son Nick in Salem, Virginia.
Her life, like that of her husband, impacted an enormous number of Canton residents, students, teachers and friends. Patsy taught Special Education for thirty years at Canton Elementary School, served as president of the local teacher’s union and was a dear friend, substitute mother, and devoted grandmother. Like Jake, Patsy leaves a void that can never be filled.
Patsy, North Carolinian by birth, came to Canton with her husband Jake when he was hired as a teacher, and she later earned a college degree and teacher’s certificate of her own - while dealing with three mischievous sons(!) - at (then) Mansfield State College. A fixture (and worried mother) at innumerable Canton Warrior athletic events, Patsy was proud to raise three children in the Canton schools, later achieving local notoriety as a beach enthusiast, world traveler and trivia contest standout.
Patsy is survived by her firstborn son Jake and his wife Beth, their children Zeke, Caleigh (married to Austin Gabel), Amelia, and Connor; her second-born son Dan and his wife Kim, their children George and Andrew, and her youngest son Nick and his wife Gretchen, their children Sam, Jake, John, Cami, and Gabe; also, by special friends Carol Morgan, Kathy Kennedy, Clyde Garvine, Doris Ann Bentley, Jill Sechrist and by her “fourth son”’ Jim Reed.
In lieu of flowers, her cat Pouncey requests that you make a contribution in her memory to the Bradford County Humane Society.
Her life, like that of her husband, impacted an enormous number of Canton residents, students, teachers and friends. Patsy taught Special Education for thirty years at Canton Elementary School, served as president of the local teacher’s union and was a dear friend, substitute mother, and devoted grandmother. Like Jake, Patsy leaves a void that can never be filled.
Patsy, North Carolinian by birth, came to Canton with her husband Jake when he was hired as a teacher, and she later earned a college degree and teacher’s certificate of her own - while dealing with three mischievous sons(!) - at (then) Mansfield State College. A fixture (and worried mother) at innumerable Canton Warrior athletic events, Patsy was proud to raise three children in the Canton schools, later achieving local notoriety as a beach enthusiast, world traveler and trivia contest standout.
Patsy is survived by her firstborn son Jake and his wife Beth, their children Zeke, Caleigh (married to Austin Gabel), Amelia, and Connor; her second-born son Dan and his wife Kim, their children George and Andrew, and her youngest son Nick and his wife Gretchen, their children Sam, Jake, John, Cami, and Gabe; also, by special friends Carol Morgan, Kathy Kennedy, Clyde Garvine, Doris Ann Bentley, Jill Sechrist and by her “fourth son”’ Jim Reed.
In lieu of flowers, her cat Pouncey requests that you make a contribution in her memory to the Bradford County Humane Society.
