Pat was born in Birmingham, AL to Sherbert & Laverne Jones. Along with her siblings, Jan & Bert, she grew up in many exciting places across the globe thanks to her father's career in the Army. Lt. Col. Jones's last post was at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX, where Pat would eventually become part of the first graduating class at Robert G. Cole Junior-Senior High School. So many of her Cole friendships lasted the rest of her life.
While working at Santa Rosa Medical Center, Pat needed some help with this thing called a computer and in walks Robert Noske, whom she would eventually marry on October 23, 1971—although if Bob had his way it would've been Halloween since he proposed on a Friday the 13th. Pat & Bob spent nearly 46 years together navigating the ups & downs of life until Bob's long goodbye from Alzheimer's ended on February 8, 2017.
And Pat kept chugging along. Previously completing her bachelor's and master's degrees and retiring from an accomplished career as a paralegal manager, she focused on defending her PhD thesis in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis in Adult Education. At the age of 72, Pat walked the stage to accept her degree with her family proudly watching from the stands. This catapulted her into what became a short but extremely meaningful tenure teaching ESL and Civics for NEISD's Adult Education program. Pat was inspired by and cared deeply for her students.
In early 2025, Pat was (re)introduced to Dr. Charles (Chuck) Lerner, the man who would become her companion and bring love back into her life. They traveled, went to weekly dinners with friends, met each other's families, and looked forward to more adventures together. Unfortunately, that was not to be but Chuck was a staunch advocate while she tried to figure out her illness, holding her hand until the end.
The most important thing to Pat was family. Always. She was the devoted daughter of Sherbert B. Jones and Laverne Jones (née Cox); the loving mother to Rebecca Lee Ann Halvorson [Dean] and Janice Corinne Noske [Noah Spangler]; the adoring sister to Jan Strauch and Bert Jones [Deborah]; the doting Nana to Riley and Nick Halvorson; the proud aunt/second mom to Sheryl Guerrero [Victor]; beloved by many more cherished members of the Jones, Cox, Halvorson, Spangler, and Guerrero families.
Pat's memorial will be held at 10:00 AM on April 25, 2026, at Porter Loring North (2102 North Loop 1604 East, San Antonio, TX 78232) with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Each One Teach One San Antonio (https://www.eotosa.org/).
