Mary June Patterson

Mary June Pepper Patterson passed away January 3, 2021 at the age of 85. She was born June 23, 1935 in Riverside, California. Pepper lived in Arlington and Riverside, CA all of her life until and met her forever-love Joe there. The two moved Sun Lakes Country Club in Banning, CA where they have lived for thirty years.

Pepper and Joe were married in 1957, but it all really began some years earlier. At age ten, Pepper and Joe had both gone gone with their dads to watch some baseball at Evans Ballpark in Riverside. He spotted this pretty little girl with pigtails, and she giggled at him. Later, they both attended Riverside Poly High School, graduating in 1953. Both went on to attend Riverside City College and graduated in 1955. This is also when their serious dating began.

After college, Pepper went to work as a salesperson at Stephenson’s dress shop in Riverside. She was excellent at what she did. Before long, she became manager and buyer at the shop, roles in which she continued to hold over fifty years. During those years, she developed a large clientele composed of women in the area who knew they would be well dressed after shopping with Pepper. She had many of those same women in mind when she went on frequent buying trips to major markets in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York. And if the husbands of those women needed to buy a gift for their wives, they went to see Pepper.

She and Joe were avid golfers, and they spent a great deal of time in the Hawaiian islands, playing golf at various beautiful resorts. Pepper and Joe traveled all their lives, going on cruises and trips to Asia, the United Kingdom, Europe, Central & South America, and the Caribbean. Pepper's father was born in England, so she visited family members there several times.

Pepper joins her parents, Thomas and Edna, as well as her brother, Donald, in Heaven. She is survived by her loving husband, Joe of Banning, CA; her sister, Marjorie Collins of Davis, CA; her niece, Linda; her nephews, Erik of Los Angeles, CA; Donald of Southern Lake Tahoe, CA; David of Davis, CA; Jim of Nova Scotia, Canada; as well as her many cousins.Mary Patterson, 85. Our beloved [relatives] passed away on January 3, 2021. Memorial donations may be made in Mary's name to The Cancer Foundation.

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