Patricia McDaniel

She was, in every sense, a true New Orleans lady. Coming of age in the 1950s, she fondly remembered riding her bicycle through Audubon Park and to Lake Pontchartrain, while spending carefree summers at her grandparents’ lake house—crawfishing, swimming, and staying outdoors until dusk.

A talented and curious young woman, she studied pointe ballet, performed in theater productions, earned a chemistry scholarship to Louisiana State University, and studied Spanish while dreaming of becoming a TWA stewardess. Yet the role she cherished most was that of wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She devoted her life to her family, raising five children with deep love and creating a legacy that continues through the generations she cherished.

FIERCELY independent and adventurous, she lived with purpose, strength, and compassion as she blazed her own path. For many years, she kept a specific cover of a small pocket calendar because of the message it carried. One line, in particular, became the motto by which she lived:

"Did you leave a trail of kindness, or a scar of discontent?... And as you close your eyes in slumber, do you think that God will say, 'You have earned one more tomorrow, by the work you did today?'"

She lived those words every day. Her life was defined by kindness, generosity, grace, and love, and all who knew her are better because she passed this way.

She is survived by her children, Martin Turner Ditto, Jr. and wife, Shari; David (Dave) Michael Ditto; Gregory (Greg) Patrick Ditto; Jeffrey (Jeff) Alan Ditto and wife, Jennice; and Karen McDaniel Law and husband, Whitney; her grandchildren, Josh, Courtney, Steve, Mitch, and Camden; her great-grandchildren, Jager, Destiny, Gabe, Sophie, Chloe, Roy, and Reece; and many extended family members and dear friends who will cherish her memory.

A Committal Service will be held at Pineridge Memorial Park, 2950 North Cobb Pkwy, Kennesaw, GA 30152, US, on July 20, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.