Obituary for Patricia Ann Love
Patricia Ann Gregg Love, 93, died peacefully on February 18, 2024, at Woodland Hospice in Mt Pleasant, MI, with her family by her side. Born in Lansing, MI on September 17, 1930, she was the oldest child of Flossie (Eldridge) and Ellis Gregg. She had a younger brother, Thomas, who was stillborn, and a younger sister, Dorothy (Dottie). “Patsy” had a happy childhood, surrounded by a close circle of aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. She loved to read and could frequently be found with her nose in a book and her beloved dog, “Tippy”, by her side. Pat loved the movies and frequently attended Saturday afternoon matinees with her family. Music was an integral part of the Gregg family life, as Ellis led a popular dance band, “Gregg’s Serenaders”, that played most weekends around the Lansing area for many years. On “off” weekends and holidays the Greggs could usually be found hosting friends and family for jam sessions downstairs in Ellis’s converted music/recreation room. Pat had fond memories of her “job” as a child and teen, which was to sit by the radio when they played the “Top Twenty” countdown of the most popular songs of the week, and write them down for her Dad to learn for the band. From an early age, her family vacationed around Michigan lakes in the summer, and her lifelong favorite was Missaukee Lake, in Lake City. Although she was not a swimmer and was not comfortable in the water, she loved sitting in the shallows and rowing a rowboat around with her sister, Dottie. She maintained a love for Missaukee Lake all her life, owned a cottage there for a number of years that was built by her husband, and vacationed there with her daughter’s family when she was well into her 80’s, until her health prevented this.
Pat was blessed with a rare, beautiful, and seemingly effortless vocal talent. She studied at the Wilde Conservatory of Music for many years. At the age of 17 she began singing as a guest vocalist all over Lansing. She sang with her father’s dance band, was a member of a number of quartets, was a sought-after wedding vocalist, and was invited to perform at the private home of the R.E Olds family in Lansing. Pat also enjoyed performing with the Lansing Civic Players in several productions. After graduating from Eastern High School with the class of 1948, she went to work at Grinnell’s music store. This is where she met her future husband, Almon (Al) Love, when he was home on leave from the Navy and would come in to visit his father, who tuned pianos at the store. After their marriage, Al and Pat had two daughters, Leslie and Alison. Pat was a wonderful mother, her encouraging and unselfish nature being strongly in evidence in all her relationships, both with her family and within her circle of very dear friends. Pat derived great joy from the children in her life, beginning with her nephews Doug and Dave Holmes, who came along before the birth of her daughters and for whom she cared deeply. Pat’s grandsons, Aidan, Alec, and Will, were the apples of her eye and she was very involved in their lives and supportive of their interests. Pat was a big fan of John Smoltz, whom she had met and come to know while working as a homeroom teacher at Waverly High School when John attended there. As John went on to play for the Atlanta Braves, she greatly enjoyed watching the games and saving newspaper clippings following his career. She passed this enthusiasm on to her oldest grandson Aidan, and spent lots of hours holding him as a baby while watching Braves games. The musical education of her grandsons was also very important to her, and she maintained a strong supportive and interested presence in this aspect of their lives. She was very proud of her grandsons’ involvement in the arts, including their many plays with the Gratiot County Players, and performances both vocal and instrumental with the School of Rock and with the Alma High School Jazz Band. When the boys were young, their visits to her were marked by trips to the pool, lunch at A&W, fudge bars and chocolate chip cookies, and usually some type of new toy or new book. Pat purchased many, many books over the years, all inscribed “Love, from Grandma”, and which are now being enjoyed by her great grandsons, Jack and Jonah (Dad Aidan, Mom Madilynn) Love.
While her children were young, Pat stayed at home and focused on creating a loving and supportive place for them. She always volunteered at school as a “room mother” and encouraged neighborhood children to come and play at her home. Her home was the “hub” of the neighborhood with a swingset, slide, and a sandbox, and always dogs to pet and play with. Pat encouraged art and creativity, provided lots of clothes for “dress-up”, purchased many albums of music, and allowed her home to be taken over for plays put on by the neighborhood kids and performed for the parents. Once her children were older, Pat went to work at several exclusive boutique stores, always having appreciated fashion and beautiful things. She greatly enjoyed her work at Liebermann’s, the premier gift store in downtown Lansing. Her family still enjoys a number of beautiful items that she purchased with her employee discount, often on “layaway”.
Pat took a number of trips in her adult life that she had very fond memories of. A visit to Colorado Springs with her family in the 1970’s to visit friends the Meinerts was a highlight, and she greatly enjoyed seeing the mountains there. She took a trip to Washington D.C. with Alison to see her relative and dear friend Carol Lindquist, with whom she talked on the phone every week in later years. She visited Toronto to see “Phantom of the Opera”, and in 1990 took a Caribbean cruise with her friend since 5th grade, Betty Myers, of course bringing back beautiful gifts for all. Pat loved visiting her friend Alice McKinney in Yellow Springs, Ohio; several times taking Aidan with her to attend nature camps at the beautiful Glen Helen Nature Center located there. She attended many performances at the Wharton Center with her friend Mary Jarrard, and she and Alison watched movie videos most Friday or Saturday nights, with pizza from Reno’s West. She also made a “trip” every Friday to the beauty salon, where her fun-loving friend Bobbie Scott did her hair and made her laugh.
Pat was very proud of the fact that her father worked his entire career at the Lansing State Journal, and she was a staunch patron of the paper all her life, reading it every morning until her eyesight prevented this. In 1990 she and Alison made it to the front page of the Journal with a full picture and article regarding an abandoned cemetery for pets which a group of supporters was trying to save from development. Pat and Alison were pictured kneeling in the grass, searching for the grave of Pat’s childhood dog “Tippy”, who had been laid to rest there.
Music was obviously something that Pat enjoyed immensely. Her all time favorite was Frank Sinatra. She almost was able to see him in person toward the end of his career, had the tickets, but to her great disappointment the show was canceled due to illness. However, she had many albums and tapes of his music, and at Leslie’s house had an Alexa right by her chair that made it easy to request “Old Blue Eyes”. Her grandsons grew up listening to “Frankie” and gained an appreciation for this type of music, thanks to Grandma. She also enjoyed Beverly Sills, Kiri Te Kanawa, Johnny Mathis, Harry Connick, Jr., Andrea Bocelli, as well as lots of 1970’s easy listening groups such as Chicago, the Eagles, Seals and Crofts, John Denver, the Carpenters, and of course Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”.
Anyone who knew Pat knew she had a quick and snappy wit that would jump out from time to time to the delight of all. She also had strong opinions about politics and football! Pat felt it was very important for everyone to vote, and was known to give her family lots of reminders to do so around election times. Pat had a very tender heart, and her love of animals was an inextricable part of who she was; any dog she ever owned was the luckiest dog in the world, and she donated to many animal charities.
In 2013 Pat suffered a series of small strokes which impaired her short-term memory to the degree that she needed to be with family, and she came to live with her daughter Leslie in Alma. Until recent years and worsening health issues, she often was able to stay with Alison in Haslett for visits, which she greatly enjoyed, watching her favorite shows and looking out the glass sliders at the woods across the street. Her gracious, undemanding personality made it easy to care for her, and she was able to live out the rest of her years surrounded by family. She attended various functions around town as well as lunches at the Senior Center with her friend and helper, Mistie Teeples, who took good care of her during the day while Leslie worked. For several years she attended the Good Company Adult Day Program for several hours on Fridays. She thoroughly charmed the wonderful staff there, had good laughs, and never failed to beat the pants off everyone when they played “Name That Tune”.
Pat will be missed by all who knew her, but we can all strive to
“Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone.”
The world will be a better place for Pat’s life and inspiration.
Pat chose to be cremated. A memorial will be planned at a future date.
Pat was blessed with a rare, beautiful, and seemingly effortless vocal talent. She studied at the Wilde Conservatory of Music for many years. At the age of 17 she began singing as a guest vocalist all over Lansing. She sang with her father’s dance band, was a member of a number of quartets, was a sought-after wedding vocalist, and was invited to perform at the private home of the R.E Olds family in Lansing. Pat also enjoyed performing with the Lansing Civic Players in several productions. After graduating from Eastern High School with the class of 1948, she went to work at Grinnell’s music store. This is where she met her future husband, Almon (Al) Love, when he was home on leave from the Navy and would come in to visit his father, who tuned pianos at the store. After their marriage, Al and Pat had two daughters, Leslie and Alison. Pat was a wonderful mother, her encouraging and unselfish nature being strongly in evidence in all her relationships, both with her family and within her circle of very dear friends. Pat derived great joy from the children in her life, beginning with her nephews Doug and Dave Holmes, who came along before the birth of her daughters and for whom she cared deeply. Pat’s grandsons, Aidan, Alec, and Will, were the apples of her eye and she was very involved in their lives and supportive of their interests. Pat was a big fan of John Smoltz, whom she had met and come to know while working as a homeroom teacher at Waverly High School when John attended there. As John went on to play for the Atlanta Braves, she greatly enjoyed watching the games and saving newspaper clippings following his career. She passed this enthusiasm on to her oldest grandson Aidan, and spent lots of hours holding him as a baby while watching Braves games. The musical education of her grandsons was also very important to her, and she maintained a strong supportive and interested presence in this aspect of their lives. She was very proud of her grandsons’ involvement in the arts, including their many plays with the Gratiot County Players, and performances both vocal and instrumental with the School of Rock and with the Alma High School Jazz Band. When the boys were young, their visits to her were marked by trips to the pool, lunch at A&W, fudge bars and chocolate chip cookies, and usually some type of new toy or new book. Pat purchased many, many books over the years, all inscribed “Love, from Grandma”, and which are now being enjoyed by her great grandsons, Jack and Jonah (Dad Aidan, Mom Madilynn) Love.
While her children were young, Pat stayed at home and focused on creating a loving and supportive place for them. She always volunteered at school as a “room mother” and encouraged neighborhood children to come and play at her home. Her home was the “hub” of the neighborhood with a swingset, slide, and a sandbox, and always dogs to pet and play with. Pat encouraged art and creativity, provided lots of clothes for “dress-up”, purchased many albums of music, and allowed her home to be taken over for plays put on by the neighborhood kids and performed for the parents. Once her children were older, Pat went to work at several exclusive boutique stores, always having appreciated fashion and beautiful things. She greatly enjoyed her work at Liebermann’s, the premier gift store in downtown Lansing. Her family still enjoys a number of beautiful items that she purchased with her employee discount, often on “layaway”.
Pat took a number of trips in her adult life that she had very fond memories of. A visit to Colorado Springs with her family in the 1970’s to visit friends the Meinerts was a highlight, and she greatly enjoyed seeing the mountains there. She took a trip to Washington D.C. with Alison to see her relative and dear friend Carol Lindquist, with whom she talked on the phone every week in later years. She visited Toronto to see “Phantom of the Opera”, and in 1990 took a Caribbean cruise with her friend since 5th grade, Betty Myers, of course bringing back beautiful gifts for all. Pat loved visiting her friend Alice McKinney in Yellow Springs, Ohio; several times taking Aidan with her to attend nature camps at the beautiful Glen Helen Nature Center located there. She attended many performances at the Wharton Center with her friend Mary Jarrard, and she and Alison watched movie videos most Friday or Saturday nights, with pizza from Reno’s West. She also made a “trip” every Friday to the beauty salon, where her fun-loving friend Bobbie Scott did her hair and made her laugh.
Pat was very proud of the fact that her father worked his entire career at the Lansing State Journal, and she was a staunch patron of the paper all her life, reading it every morning until her eyesight prevented this. In 1990 she and Alison made it to the front page of the Journal with a full picture and article regarding an abandoned cemetery for pets which a group of supporters was trying to save from development. Pat and Alison were pictured kneeling in the grass, searching for the grave of Pat’s childhood dog “Tippy”, who had been laid to rest there.
Music was obviously something that Pat enjoyed immensely. Her all time favorite was Frank Sinatra. She almost was able to see him in person toward the end of his career, had the tickets, but to her great disappointment the show was canceled due to illness. However, she had many albums and tapes of his music, and at Leslie’s house had an Alexa right by her chair that made it easy to request “Old Blue Eyes”. Her grandsons grew up listening to “Frankie” and gained an appreciation for this type of music, thanks to Grandma. She also enjoyed Beverly Sills, Kiri Te Kanawa, Johnny Mathis, Harry Connick, Jr., Andrea Bocelli, as well as lots of 1970’s easy listening groups such as Chicago, the Eagles, Seals and Crofts, John Denver, the Carpenters, and of course Stevie Wonder’s “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life”.
Anyone who knew Pat knew she had a quick and snappy wit that would jump out from time to time to the delight of all. She also had strong opinions about politics and football! Pat felt it was very important for everyone to vote, and was known to give her family lots of reminders to do so around election times. Pat had a very tender heart, and her love of animals was an inextricable part of who she was; any dog she ever owned was the luckiest dog in the world, and she donated to many animal charities.
In 2013 Pat suffered a series of small strokes which impaired her short-term memory to the degree that she needed to be with family, and she came to live with her daughter Leslie in Alma. Until recent years and worsening health issues, she often was able to stay with Alison in Haslett for visits, which she greatly enjoyed, watching her favorite shows and looking out the glass sliders at the woods across the street. Her gracious, undemanding personality made it easy to care for her, and she was able to live out the rest of her years surrounded by family. She attended various functions around town as well as lunches at the Senior Center with her friend and helper, Mistie Teeples, who took good care of her during the day while Leslie worked. For several years she attended the Good Company Adult Day Program for several hours on Fridays. She thoroughly charmed the wonderful staff there, had good laughs, and never failed to beat the pants off everyone when they played “Name That Tune”.
Pat will be missed by all who knew her, but we can all strive to
“Be the things you loved most about the people who are gone.”
The world will be a better place for Pat’s life and inspiration.
Pat chose to be cremated. A memorial will be planned at a future date.