Christine Harris Patten

Spending most of her childhood in the Odena community, Christine and her family moved to Jackson’s Gap, Alabama when she was 12 years old. There she met the love of her life and future husband of 70 years, Harold.

Christine made her eternity in heaven certain when at age 10 she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior at an evening outdoor service held at her home sponsored by the family’s church, Odena Baptist Church. In her own words she has written, “This was truly my life’s most important event.” After moving to Jackson’s Gap she joined and was active in Jackson’s Gap Baptist Church.

Christine and Harold were married on November 4, 1944. In 1946 she graduated from Tallapoosa County High School, now Dadeville High School, where she was a senior class officer, voted Most Dependable, Good Citizenship Girl, and was Editor-in-Chief of the school yearbook.

In 1945 Harold returned from serving in World War II and in 1948 they welcomed their first child, Janis. They moved to Auburn, Alabama in 1950 where Christine worked as a telephone operator while Harold earned his college degree. In 1953 the family relocated to Wetumpka, Alabama where they would live until 1968. In 1954 their second child, Pat, was born.

In Wetumpka, Christine and Harold were active in First Baptist Church and were involved in many community and civic activities. When Elmore County Hospital was built in 1959, Christine joined the staff of the Medical Records Department where she worked for the next six years.

In 1968 she and Harold began a series of relocations to New Orleans, Louisiana, then to Montgomery, Alabama, and then to Dothan, Alabama as required by Harold’s employment. They returned to Montgomery in 1993 after his retirement. There they were members of First Baptist Church of Montgomery. Leaving First Baptist in 1994 to become founding members of Vaughn Forest Baptist Church in Montgomery, they served there until moving to Birmingham, Alabama in 2007. They then joined Shades Mountain Baptist Church.

In 2017, Christine moved to St. Martin’s in the Pines Senior Living Community in Birmingham where she lived in The Arbors apartments. She was a wonderful homemaker, always active in church and civic affairs, and a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.

Christine was preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Harold Patten; her parents, Eddie Ulysses Harris and Clara Estelle Harris; six brothers, Louis Harris, Elgin Harris, Leavis Harris, Linwood Harris, Edward Harris, and Dewayne Harris; and two sisters, Cluedie Cannon and Nell Riggins.

Survivors include Christine's daughter, Janis Nichol (Vic) of Birmingham; a son, Lewis H. “Pat” Patten, Jr. of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; grandchildren, Andrew V. Nichol and Michael P. Nichol both of Birmingham, and Jessica Leigh Cook of Phenix City, Alabama; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held at Shades Mountain Baptist Church Conference Center in Birmingham on Friday, August 14, 2020. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. followed by the service at 2 p.m. All COVID protocols will be observed. Following the service, there will be a graveside service at Southern Heritage Cemetery in Pelham, Alabama.

Memorials may be made to Jackson’s Gap Baptist Church, 23 E. Church Street, Jackson’s Gap, AL 36861 or to Shades Mountain Baptist Church, 2017 Columbiana Road, Birmingham, AL 35216.