Patricia Ann Staton, age 74 of Folsom, CA, passed away on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at 7:42AMat Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Roseville, CA.
She was born August 6, 1949, in LaHarpe, IL, to Donald Preston and Augusta Myers Griffiths, Sr. Patricia was a 1967 graduate of Nauvoo-Colusa High School, and after graduating, she attended University of Illinois in Champaign for two years, where she studied dance and moonlighted as a singer in local bands. She met Joseph Michael Staton at U of I, and, on October 12, 1969, they were married in Colusa, IL. Their first child, Sean Christian Staton, was born in 1970. Patty, as she was fondly known, worked as an aerobics instructor, among other jobs while Joe finished his degrees and joined the US Air Force. Off to see the world, the family was stationed at Lakenheath AFB near London, England for close to four years, and shortly after the birth of their second child, Sunny Kristen Staton, in 1976. Upon return to the States, the family relocated to Northern California, where Patty would remain for almost two decades. Racquetball was a passion of hers for sometime. She and Joe divorced in the mid-1980s. She finished her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from California State University Sacramento, and held various jobs working with contracts and editing. Her writing skills were quite notable, assisting colleagues with thesis writing and editing as well. An avid reader and lover of words, she enjoyed a gripping Steven King novel almost as fiercely as a competitive game of Scrabble. She shared a keen sense of humor with her brother, Bill, and wrote clever poetry and prose that can still be discovered today amongst her most cherished possessions. Patty moved to Colorado in the late 1990s to be closer to more of her family. She devoted many years to caring for her mother. Her favorite role, and one that she was most proud of, was that of Mother. She was caring and nurturing, and loved her children and her family beyond measure. She was quick to help out friends and neighbors in any capacity that she possibly could, and she often looked for opportunities to do so. In her later years, she moved back to California to reconnect with old friends and to be closer to Sunny and her west coast grandchildren. She purchased a house in Orangevale, CA, and renovated it from top to bottom, just as she had always wished to do - design a house just the way she wanted, with many photographs that reminded her of Colusa, IL, and family throughout the years. Patricia’s final residence was a memory care development in Folsom, CA.
Survivors include her son, Sean Staton of Virginia, and his three children, Sean, Jr. of Maine, and Austin Joseph and Savannah of Virginia; her daughter, Sunny Mitchell, her husband Jeff, and her two children, Hannah and Lukas, of Folsom, CA; and two brothers, Donald and his wife, Meredith Griffiths of Nauvoo, IL, Ruth Griffiths, wife of her brother, Allan, and William and his wife Becky Griffiths of Ft. Madison, IA.
She was preceded in death by her Father and Mother; her brother, Allan Griffiths; and her maternal and paternal grandparents
The family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Saturday, July 27, 2024 at Schmitz-Banks & Beals Funeral Home in Nauvoo.
A graveside service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, July 27th at Meyers Cemetery, rural Niota.
A memorial fund has been established. To leave an online condolence for the family, please visit Patricia’s obituary at banksandbeals.com.
