Mildred Louise Pace

Mildred Louise Pace was born in Columbus, Ohio on September 18, 1933. She suffered a massive stroke in early January, 2009. For more than three years she beat the odds with her astounding display of strength and unwavering will to live. She peacefully slipped away from us on August 20, 2012 at Country Glenn Nursing and Therapy Center in Washington Courthouse, Ohio. Mildred is preceded in death by her mother, Mosella Perkins; her grandparents, Gertrude Mama Gert and Virgil Lattimer; her loving and devoted husband, John; and her sister, Jessie Perkins. From the days of her youth until the time of her illness, Mildred was a striking beauty. In fact, it was her lovely appearance that first caught the eye of the man who would later become her partner for life. Every evening after work, Mildred would ride the bus home and exit in front of Jerry's Auto Parts store – where John Pace happened to work. On one fortuitous day, John noticed her passing by and was smitten. Day after day he would conveniently position himself in front of the store just before her bus was due to arrive. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to woo her, she finally agreed to go out on a date and thus began their love story. You can read about the woman she was at Proverbs 31:10-31. She was a capable wife to the love of her life, John. For the entirety of their 33 year marriage, they were each other's strength and developed a marital partnership guided by their love for Jehovah and adherence to his laws. To this union, they were the proud parents of three children and devoted grandparents to three grandchildren. Mildred was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses 35 years ago and remained a faithful and active member of the East Linden Congregation. Although she had a morbid fear of dogs, she always found great joy sharing in the door-to-door ministry. After graduating from Columbus East High School, Mildred worked for many years as a Surgical Nurse's Aide at Doctor's North Hospital. Subsequent to taking a number of years off to raise her kids, she began to do the tireless job of raising someone else's kids -- as a home daycare provider. Miss Pace (as she was known by the hundreds of children who passed through the doors of her in-home daycare center) truly loved the kids. In fact, she never met a child who didn't instantly love her in return. With endless patience and kindness, she treated each of them as though they were her own – that was just her way. Many of those kids still fondly speak about mom's tuna noodle casserole, her reminders to always say please and thank you, the first time she taught them to tie their shoes and jokingly remember that lunchtime immediately followed The Price is Right (her favorite show). Mildred was famous for her moist and delicious 7-up Cake – never too dry, never too dense, always just right. People often came from near and far to get a slice of her tasty cakes. Ever gracious, friends and family only needed to ask her for a cake of their very own, provide her with the required butter, and she'd get to work doing the rest. Mildred was a soft spoken person who lived her life caring for others. She dearly loved her family and friends and had an uncanny way of making everyone feel special. As a music fan she particularly treasured B.B. King, Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, George Benson and Luther Vandross. She was able to attend every concert tour Luther performed in Ohio and was delighted to visit B.B. King's blues spot and restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee. She enjoyed travelling, sightseeing, cruising, shopping, garage sales, planting flowers and dressing the big ceramic goose that sat in her flower garden. Butter Pecan ice cream was her flavor of choice and chocolate covered raisins were her extra special indulgence on rare occasions. Everyone who knew her also knew about her love of The Price is Right and the Oprah Winfrey show. Mildred leaves to cherish her memory, three loving children, Lori, John III (Latonya) and Craig; three precious grandchildren, Tiana, John (IV) and Austin; two beautiful sisters, Carolyn (Alden) Coleman and Bernice (Fred) Steward; two devoted brothers, Joe Hart and Royce (Becky) Perkins; and a host of other adoring family including dearly loved nieces and nephews, especially close cousins, other relatives and friends.