Patsy Ruth Laughridge

Pat Laughridge, born Patsy Ruth Foutz on October 22, 1926, passed away June 8, 2016 in St. Simon’s Island, Georgia. She went peacefully and with great grace, as she had lived her entire unselfish life. Her three daughters and one son in law were with her.

The only child of Gordon Columbus Foutz and Ruth Wash Foutz, Pat was born in Charlotte, NC. The family later moved to Salisbury and lived in the Empire Hotel, which her father managed. She graduated from Boyden High School and later from Duke University with a BA in English.

She married James Hurley Laughridge in 1947, and they shared a full life together until his death in 1999. Most of their married life was spent in Salisbury, NC and later in Atlanta, GA.After their daughters were grown, they resettled in Salisbury and opened a business together: A Country Place/ACP Distributors. Pat maintained their home in Salisbury throughout her life but spent much of her last eight years with her daughters. She also kept a parttime residence in Myrtle Beach, SC, where she loved to ride the waves well into her eighties.

Pat’s love of dancing was a keynote of her life. She studied and performed from a young age, and taught hundreds of little girls to tap her greatest passion as the owner of “The Little Studio” in Doraville, Georgia in the 1960s and early 70s. She also loved books and reading, and counted her long membership in the “Tea and Topics” Book Club in Salisbury as one of her greatest joys.

A longtime member of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Salisbury, Pat was a devoted Christian Scientist. Its teachings of the universality and impartiality of God’s love informed her entire life of quiet service and generosity. She leaves a grateful family eager to uphold her example: daughters Julie Ward ( Peter) of Alpharetta, GA, Jamie Farnsworth (Jack) of Mattituck, NY, and Suzy Dmetruk (Steve) of St. Simon’s Island, GA; grandchildren Kelly Waldron, Jeremiah Boswell, Jamie Ward, Katie Mills, and Jackson Farnsworth; and great grandchildren Grant, Mason, Ava, and Owen Waldron.

If you wish to honor Pat, the family invites you to do one anonymous act of kindness. Donations may also be made in her memory to the Morning Light Foundation, Inc. PO Box 7604, Atlanta, GA 30357, morninglightcs.org, A celebration of life gathering is planned for late July in Atlanta. Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. www.edomillerandsons.com