Patricia A "Patty" (Lowe) Dykstra
Marriages
A.C. "Woody" Woodward
Divorced
Thomas D
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 7B Death Notice - May 10, 2017
Patricia A. Dykstra, 70, Grand Junction, died May 8, 2017, at
her home.
Services will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Callahan-Edfast
Mortuary.
She was a school teacher.
Survivors include her husband, Thomas D.; one son, Brian S.
Woodard of Denmark; one daughter, Jodi P. Woodard of Grand
Junction; one brother, Michael D. Lowe of Everett, Washington;
two sisters, Wanda L. O’Toole of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Nancy L.
Lowe of Pueblo West; and two grandchildren.
Memorial contributions to HopeWest, 3090B N. 12th St., Grand
Junction 81506.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3D Obituary - May 14, 2017
Patricia Dykstra
April 17, 1947 - May 8, 2017
Frequently, Patty would stop
grown strangers on the street
to ask, "Didn’t I have you in
kindergarten?"
And, more often than not,
the puzzled stranger would
quickly break into a smile of
recognition. The bear hug that
followed was just like the one
they’d gotten every morning,
many years earlier, from their
kindergarten teacher.
Patty Dykstra, loving mother, dedicated wife, and proud
teacher, passed away peacefully at her home on May 8, after a
longer battle with pulmonary disease. During her 20 years as a
District 51 teacher - most of them spent in the little kindergarten
cottage building behind Lincoln Orchard Mesa Elementary - she
helped over 1,000 Grand Valley students get off to a good start
in their education.
Patty was born in Boulder, the second of three children, to
Walter S. Lowe and Mary Louise (Lewis). Shortly after her
birth, her father, a WWII vet and a mortician, moved the family
to the San Luis Valley where he opened the Lowe Funeral
Home. Tragedy struck in 1951 when Patty, then just four years
old, lost her mother suddenly to polio. Her father later married
nurse Luella Girard, who adopted Patty, her older brother Mike,
and younger sister Wanda. Another half-sister, Nancy, was born
in 1961.
Patty graduated from Alamosa High School in 1964 and went
on to Adams State College that same year. At the end of 1966,
during her junior year, she had her first date with A.C. "Woody"
Woodward. That date would lead to marriage and six years, a
split, and a reunion later, to her first child, Brian, who was born
after two days of intense labor in 1973 in Durango. The
following year she gave birth to a daughter, Jodi.
The family moved to Grand Junction from Durango in 1979
with her husband’s work as a railroad conductor. Patty began
teaching at Lincoln O.M. and through the 1980’s was a fixture
as a team mom, board member, and cowbell-ringing fan at
among other things: Grand Mesa Youth Soccer, Packers Pee-
Wee football games, dance recitals, Orchard Mesa Little League
tournaments, and Colorado West BMX races. Patty divorced in
1987 and, two years later, met Tom Dykstra.
She was particularly proud of completing her master’s degree
in Early Childhood Education in 1991. In 1996 she and Tom
married in a small ceremony at the home of Tom’s parents,
"Dyke and Diddie", who’d become a close second family to her.
Tom and Patty remained married for the next 21 years.
Patty was the eternal optimist, who sought the lighter side and
inspired others to do the same. She pulled for the Broncos on
Sundays, even through the lean years. She loved teddy bears,
and collected them in every size and material. She also loved to
chat, telling stories and talking with friends - sometimes for
hours. Her long, perfectly lacquered fingernails and love of
jewelry were testament to her feminine side, as was her love of
being a mother. Patty was a film and TV series buff, with a
weak spot, too, for game show staples like The Price is Right
and Family Feud. Above all, she cherished time spent with
family, her pets, and her students.
Patty is survived by her husband, Tom, and their beloved cat,
Mabel; daughter, Jodi Woodward of Grand Junction; son, Brian,
and grandchildren, Lukas and Helena Woodward of Aarhus,
Denmark; brother, Mike (Linda) Lowe of Everett, WA; sisters,
Wanda (Mike) O’Toole of Lincoln, NE, and Nancy of Pueblo;
step-children, Jeff (Molly) Dykstra and their children,
Mackenzie, Clara, and Bennett of Edina, MN; and step-children,
Leslie (Jeff) Fox and their children, Emily and Sydney of
Golden.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, May 16, at 11:00
a.m. at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary. A private inurnment will
follow.
The family extends a special thanks to the tireless caregivers
who looked after Patty in recent months, including Sue Anne
Williams, Jean Enderud, Cyndi Suter, Susan Prescott, Dorothy
Stevenson, the caregivers at Hospice HopeWest—especially
Rana, Terry, and Kelsie—and Janet Walker and Teri Newbury of
Nightingale’s HomeCare.
In lieu of flowers, Patty asked that friends either bring a new
teddy bear to the service that can be given to a child in need
through the Western Slope Center for Abused Children and
Catholic Outreach or that friends make a donation to HopeWest
Hospice.
