Patricia Householder

MARCELLINE, Ill. -- Patricia Lee Householder, 81, of the Sunset Home in Quincy, formerly of Marcelline, died on Monday (July 15, 2013) in the Sunset Home in Quincy.

Patricia was born on March 17, 1931, at the family home in Warsaw. She was the daughter of William Henry and Hazel Leola McGrew Courtois.

She graduated from Warsaw High School in Warsaw and Gem City Business School in Quincy, working as a bookkeeper and secretary. Later, she worked as a welder at Gleason Wheel factory in Fort Madison, Iowa. During the Vietnam War she was employed as a test fire coordinator of hand grenades at the Burlington Iowa Ordinance Plant.

After the war she enrolled at Southeastern Community College in Keokuk/Burlington, Iowa and received an associate's degree as a registered nurse. While working at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, she was also trained as a paramedic. Later, while working at McDonough District Hospital in Macomb, she completed a bachelor's degree in sociology at Western Illinois University. Retirement finally came at age 74 after 20 years working at McDonough District Hospital.

Surviving is a grandson, Mathew Stephen Ensminger of Carthage; two nieces, Carol Dee Booser and Patricia Dell Maloy-Ellis; one nephew, Michael Dennis Maloy and one great-niece, Kimberly Carol Ellis, all of Torrance, Calif.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Albert Lavern Householder; one son, Stephen Charles Ensminger; one sister, Dorothy Eunice Maloy; one brother, Robert Thomas Courtois and a nephew, Norman Wayne Maloy.

SERVICES: 9 a.m. Thursday graveside services will be in Oakland Cemetery in Warsaw. VISITATION: There will be no visitation, but friends are invited to the graveside services.

MEMORIALS: Zion United Church of Christ in Ursa.

ARRANGEMENTS: Hunter Funeral Home, Mendon

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