Christine McColl Patience, 78, formerly of Melrose, Florida, died peacefully in the early morning of Tuesday, October 29, 2019 at Valley View Care in Cottonwood, Arizona.
The daughter, wife, and mother of Episcopal priests, Christine was a devout churchwoman throughout her life. She grew up in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where her father the Rev. J. Rodger McColl, was chaplain at the Chapel of St. John the Divine, and in Wilmette, Illinois, where he was rector of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church. She attended Kemper Hall in Kenosha, Wisconsin, then graduated from Charleston High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. After receiving a master’s degree in pastoral counseling from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, she married the Rev. Lindsay G. (Gary) Patience in May 1967. They served Episcopal parishes and dioceses in Winter Haven and Auburndale, Florida; Unadilla, Franklin, and Albany, New York; Mattoon, Springfield, Decatur, and O’Fallon, Illinois; Tallulah and Lake Providence, Louisiana. They returned to Florida in retirement to serve Trinity Episcopal Church in Melrose.
Throughout the family’s frequent moves, Christine worked as an executive assistant, served in thrift shop and prayer ministries, and raised four children. She is survived by her sister Zay (Ben) Foster; her children the Rev. Rodger (Katrin) Patience, David (Jamiee) Patience, Heather Bustrum, and Sarah (Danny) Taylor; by her grandchildren Clara Patience and Sarah Patience; and by her great-grandson Mark Tongen, Jr. She was preceded in death by her father, her mother Frances W. McColl, her husband Gary, and her son-in-law Jim Bustrum.
The funeral for Christine Patience will be held on Thursday, November 7 at 10 am at Trinity Episcopal Church, Melrose, Florida, with the Rev. Tony Powell officiating and the Rev. Rodger Patience preaching. She will be buried with her husband Gary and the Patience family at Eden Cemetery in Crescent City, Florida. Flowers may be sent to Trinity Episcopal Church, 204 State Road 26, Melrose, Florida 32666. Donations are welcome for either the Trinity Thrift Shop at the address above or Maggie’s Hospice, 306 N. Virginia Street, Prescott, AZ 86301.
