CAROLINA BEACH — Patricia J.S. “Patty” Head, 89, went to her heavenly home Friday morning, Feb. 1, 2019, surrounded by her loving family.
Patty was born Dec. 20, 1929, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, to parents Wirt Phillips Jones and Marjorie Elizabeth Young Jones. After moving to Wilmington, she attended Isaac Bear Elementary School and then graduated from New Hanover High School in the Class of 1947.
Her family was active in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, and Patty became involved in youth activities there. She was also privileged to attend the Fourth Quadrennial Convention of Presbyterian Youth in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1946. She entered Flora MacDonald College in 1947, and then graduated from the School of Music at the University of Louisville in 1951.
While at the University of Louisville, she met and married Keith Allen Stonecipher in 1952, and they were married 44 years until his death in 1996. They had two children, Keith Jr. and Susan Elizabeth Stonecipher. For 10 years, she was the choir director and organist at Shelby Park Methodist Church, followed by 28 years as the assistant choir director and organist at Harvey Browne Memorial Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 2001, she married her second husband, Dr. Thomas J. Head Jr., who was her high school sweetheart in Wilmington. During this stage of her life, she joined the First Baptist Church, and the couple joined the Wells Sunday School class where they found an extended family. They enjoyed membership in the Executive Club and the Cotillion Dance Club.
When the time came to downsize, they moved to their condo at Carolina Beach, where they witnessed each day the changing ocean and spectacular sunrises and sunsets. For several years, they volunteered at the Good Shepherd House, and provided music for church services at Pacifica Nursing facility, as well as music to entertain the residents at Liberty Commons. She was a member of the Thursday Morning Music Club and served a two-year term as its president.
Patty was preceded in death by her first husband, Keith A. Stonecipher; parents; brother, W.P.(Phil) Jones Jr.; two brothers-in-law, Donald H. Stonecipher and Gary E. Stonecipher; and one sister-in-law, Hank Stonecipher.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. Thomas Head; brother, Robert Young (Eleanor) Jones; brother-in-law, Dr. Emerson Head; two children, Keith Stonecipher Jr. and Susan Stonecipher (Russell) Gilfert; stepchildren, Fran Head (Mark) Grantham and W. Thomas Head; three grandchildren, Justin (Stacy) Gilfert, Allen (Michelle) Gilfert and Troy (Annmarie) Stonecipher; five precious great-grandchildren, Ellie Kate and Prescott, Alec, Ben and Emma Gilfert; sisters-in-law, Donna Miller Jones, Eleanor Fowler Jones and Pat Hinson Stonecipher; nieces, Cynthia (Matt) Alvey, Jennifer (Kevin) Howard, Karen (Darren) Carter, Karen Stonecipher Veleta and Lori Stonecipher Summitt; nephews, Brad (Iris) Stonecipher and Brett (Ellen) Stonecipher; and a very special friend and nurse, Sevitri Tompkins.
A celebration of life service for Patty will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 9, at the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Wilmington. The family will receive friends at the church following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to First Baptist Church of Wilmington, 411 Market St., Wilmington, NC 28401; or the Lower Cape Fear Hospice, 1414 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC 28401.
Share online condolences with the family at Andrews Mortuary & Crematory.
