Betty 'Pat' Atkinson, passed peacefully on April 1, 2025 at Age 94. Loving Wife of the late Cyril 'York' Atkinson. Beloved mom of Pam (Chester) Parys, Tim (Tina) Atkinson, Sharon Osmond, and Margaret (Glen) Keely. Cherished grandma of Nicole, Shawn (Amanda), Jessica (Mike), Chris, Zara, Joelle, Trisha (Jamie), and Megan. Adored great-grandmother of Meadow, Xander, Zoey, Logan, Hope, Hazel, Rory, Emrey, and Estrella.

Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Nana, Pat, Mrs. A. No matter what you called Betty Patricia Atkinson, she was a very special, determined, strong willed and loving person. She was born in Garden City, Michigan at her home. By age 8, she was an accomplished boxer. She took on every bully to protect the girls! She also began attending Garden City Presbyterian Church which she loved and continued attending for the next 86 years. She was educated in a one room schoolhouse through 8th grade then moved to Fordson High School. What a change!  She loved to sing and had a beautiful soprano voice. At 16, she even auditioned for the Civic Light Opera in Detroit. Pat thrived in english, literature and fashion design, but hated math. She wanted to be a librarian, but gave up on that dream and instead attended beauty school.

In 1947, Pat went on a blind date and met the love of her life. He was a handsome boy with an english accent, how could she resist!  York and Pat were married one year later and started building their life together, which lasted 72 years.

Pat was a very strong leader with a "get it done" attitude.  She stepped up to "lead" every volunteer organization she could find! She was president of the PTA, Band Boosters, MSU Extension/FCE/MCEO and the Presbyterian Women.  She loved all these organizations. Pat was also a leader of two Camp Fire groups filled with wild teenage girls! She loved them like her own. She treated them like family, teaching them life skills, good morals, values and life lessons, all while still having many fun adventures.

She was also proud of holding various part time jobs. She was the author for the "Around Town" column in the Inkster Ledger Star. One of her favorite jobs was giving out samples of Mr. Turkey products at grocery stores. She was a people person so this job was a great fit for her!

Pat had many things she liked and some things she disliked. She liked to read, paint, take scenic photos and talk on the phone. She answered every phone call until the day she died. She hated exercise, but loved shopping, this was her exercise! She loved a new outfit with plenty of bling, including big statement jewelry and bedazzled hats!

Family and Friends were very important to Pat. Church gatherings and conventions with the ladies were high on her list, but Family was at the top. Family reunions, family holidays and gatherings were always the norm. This tradition continued throughout her life. She was involved in the lives of her children, including grands and greats. She was so proud of all of them.  She was always willing to lend a hand or be there to cheer them on. She passed on her love of music and appreciation for the arts to them all. She was very well traveled, visiting every U.S. state, as well as Canada and Europe. Traveling with her family included many trips to Florida, but her favorite was celebrating milestone anniversaries in Branson, Missouri with the entire family!

We will sadly miss her love for music and pretending to be the director of the band with every upbeat song she heard. We'll miss her recent comments, like "I'm doing pretty good for an old lady!" (complete with arm motions!) We'll miss her offhand straight forward comments, her sharing of knowledge and lifetime stories. We will always remember her smile, morals, values, life lessons and of course her unconditional love.

Visitation, Friday, April 11th, 2025 2-8pm at the John N. Santeiu & Son Funeral Home, 1139 N. Inkster Road, Garden City (between Ford Road and Cherry Hill). Funeral Service, Saturday, April 12th, 2025 in state at 9:30am with funeral service at 10:30am at Garden City Presbyterian Church, 1841 N. Middlebelt Road, Garden City (1 block south of Ford Road). Please make any memorial gifts to Garden City Presbyterian Church in lieu of flowers.