Jan. 8, 1945- Jan. 21, 2005

Patricia Ann Sweet of Mt. Vernon died Friday, Jan. 21 at her home in Mt. Vernon.

A celebration of Mrs. Sweet’s life will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church at 139 Dayton in John Day, with Pastor Andy Anderson officiating. A potluck luncheon will follow at the church.

Mrs. Sweet was born Jan. 8, 1945, in John Day. She was raised in Mt. Vernon and graduated from Mt. Vernon High School. In the early sixties she moved to Portland to seek her fame and fortune and became a successful insurance broker, married and had two children.

Her heart was never far from Grant County and the Blue Mountains.

She and her children moved back to Dayville for several years in the early seventies but returned to Portland in 1976 to continue her career.

In 1986 Mrs. Sweet suffered a disabling stroke. She moved back to Mt. Vernon and, despite her disabilities, lived happily for the next 18 years of her life as an active member of the community surrounded by her many friends and extended family members. She adored her four grandchildren, her little dog, Shelley, and country music.

Mrs. Sweet is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Tonia and Tom Whitehead and her three grandchildren, Evan, Eliot and Emma of Corvallis; her son, Tyrone Lihs of Hillsboro; her granddaughter, Ariel of Clackamas; step-parents, Dar and Connie Rasmussen of Brookings; sister, Penny Godwin, of Clackamas; brother Randy Rasmussen of Prineville; brother, Rick Rasmussen of San Diego, Calif.; her great aunt, Mary McKern of Mt. Vernon, and three nieces and a nephew.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Clea Richardson, father, Ed Leach, grandparents Valene and Otis Greene and Lois Lynch, and a nephew, Brett Ramussen.

Memorial contributions in Mrs. Sweet’s name may be made to the John Day Senior Center or the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church through Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd, John Day, OR 97845.