Patricia Walker Labrum

Patricia Elizabeth (Walker) Labrum passed away on October 14, 2021, due to the effects of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

She was born in Tryon, North Carolina on June 10, 1947 to Hugh Everett Walker and Harriett Feagan Walker. She grew up in Estill, South Carolina; Glennville, Georgia; and Columbus, North Carolina, and said she enjoyed a freedom that would "boggle the minds of children today." It was during childhood that she developed a lifelong love of books and learning. She also loved horses, and rode in horse shows during her adolescence.

After graduating from Polk Central High School in Columbus, NC, she spent the summer working in Utah at Flaming Gorge Lodge, where she met and began dating Dan Labrum, her future husband. She enrolled at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia that fall. During her college years she spent one summer working in Chicago, Illinois, and another with her family in a village on the Amazon River, where her father's position with Georgia Pacific had taken them.

After returning to Utah, she married Dan on December 29, 1967, in Elko, Nevada. They settled in Vernal, Utah, where they raised their four children.

In October 1972, Patricia was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and was a devout disciple of Christ for the remainder of her life. She was sealed to her husband and family in the Salt Lake City Temple on July 10, 1978.

A firm believer in the value of education, she returned to school and received degrees from Utah State University and the University of Utah. She taught school for the next 40 years, hoping to instill in her students a love of learning-similar to her own-that would expand their worlds and enrich their lives.

Insatiably curious, she loved to travel and had visited all 50 states, Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. She often said there was nowhere on Earth she didn't want to go. She had limitless interests, numerous hobbies, infectious enthusiasm, and an immense love of people.

Full of faith and love, she was an incurable optimist who could find joy and humor in the most difficult or unpleasant circumstances. Throughout all but the final few days of her illness, her disposition was sunny, her mind sharp and her humor intact.

She is survived by her husband, Dan Labrum; brothers Max (Harriet) Walker of Atlanta, GA; and Hugh (Birgitta) Walker of Denver, CO; sister Sue Maner of Columbia, SC; children Chris (Karen) Labrum, of Wichita, KS; Kira (Garn) Labrum-Nibley of Salt Lake City, UT; Jed (Brooke) Labrum of Vernal, UT, and Matt Labrum of Durham, NC; grandchildren Erika, Madison, Alexandra, Lauren, Carson, and Easton.

Funeral services for Patricia will be held Friday, October 22, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at the Glines Stake Center (78 Aggie Blvd.) A visitation for family and friends will be held Thursday evening from 6-8 p.m. at the Phillips Ashley Valley Funeral Home and Friday 9:45-10:45 a.m. at the Church. Interment will be in the Vernal Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, a donation could be made to a charity of the reader's choice or to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Humanitarian Fund.

Online condolences may be shared at www.AshleyValleyFuneralHome.com

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