Patricia "Patty" Anne Brown Stiff

October 20, 1935 - January 9, 2016

A video tribute will be posted when complete. Please check back. Mattoon, IL – Patricia “Patty” Anne Brown Stiff joined her Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven at 5:45 MST on January 9, 2016. This amazing lady passed peacefully while sleeping at one of her favorite spots on this earth, in her condo in Scottsdale, Arizona. The family will be hosting a Celebration of Life for Patty at the First United Methodist Church in Mattoon on January 21, 2016. There will be a visitation from 4pm – 6 pm, and at 6pm the celebration led by Pastor Ken Hutchens will start in the sanctuary. There will be music special to Patty and sharing of memories of her life. The service will be followed by a dessert buffet in the Fellowship Hall. The family would like to invite anyone who knew Patty to join this celebration of her passing into a new life, with a new body, and reunited with those she loved. For the ladies who are coming, it would be fun if you wore a pin on the back of your shoulder, as a tribute to Patty. If you know the story, you are already smiling. If you do not, we will let you in on the secret at the Celebration. Mitchell-Jerdan Funeral Home located at 1200 Wabash Avenue, Mattoon, IL, 61938 is assisting the family with the arrangements. Family, Fun, and Fashion…Patty was known for all three. She brought sparkle to a room, and you could not help but enjoy her infectious laugh. She lived each day to the fullest, with a schedule that would wear out someone ½ her age. She enjoyed each day, and made sure that others were also enjoying themselves as well. She is already missed. Patty was an only child, born on October 20, 1935. She was blessed with a wonderful Mother, Marjorie Alexander Brown, and a doting father Robert Wendell Brown, both deceased. Patty was a proud member of the Mattoon High School Class of 1953, and married her high school Sweetheart Lew Stiff in 1955. Lew passed away 4 years ago, and we can almost hear the music coming from the party these two are having in Heaven celebrating the reunion of two people who loved each other so much. Patty is survived by her daughter Lisa Bond (husband Brett Bond) of Mattoon; her son Greg Stiff (wife Marcia Lowder Stiff) of St. Peters, MO; three sisters-in-law: Barbara Bridges (Mattoon) Shirley Goudie (Clearwater, Florida); and Deanna Stiff (Mattoon). Patty also had 5 grandchildren: Ashley Bond West (husband Jeremy West) of Mattoon, Amanda Bond Stockton (husband Lance Stockton) of Noblesville, IN, and Amber Bond Lauwers (husband Whit Lauwers) of Charleston, and Brady and Kailynn Stiff of Saint Peters, MO. Patty had six great-grandchildren Avery, Olivia, Taylor, Emma, Mason, and Kenzie. All 11 of the them will deeply miss their Grammy/Migi and her “sugars.” Patty attended Eastern Illinois University and was a proud Panther her whole life. Patty and Lew traveled while in the service (and continued this practice then in retirement), making lifelong friends across the US. They settled back in Mattoon in the late 50’s, where they started their family. Patty also started the Miss Coles County Pageant in 1959 and continued as the director until the 1969. It was in that year that she gave up showing fashions on the pageant runway, and started selling fashions to the ladies of Coles County, as the first Doncaster consultant in the area. She loved making women beautiful, and won many national awards for her talents over her 46 years as a fashion consultant. Patty was proud of Central Illinois, and served in many volunteer efforts including: leadership roles at the First United Methodist Church of Mattoon; FUMC Methodist Women; PEO (active since 1977); a Charter Member of Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Guild; Leadership in Mattoon Golf and Country Club Women’s Golf Association; Board of Trustee Catholic Charities; and the SBLHC Women’s Connection. She also proudly served a Board Member for the Little theater On the Square since 2003, where over the past 10 years, she has been personally involved with fundraising to keep theater thriving in Central Illinois! In honor of Patty’s spirit of giving, the family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to The First United Methodist Church of Mattoon, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Foundation, or the Little Theater on the Square in Sullivan, IL. Please visit www.mitchell-jerdan.com to light a virtual candle in her honor, and share a memory with her family.