Patricia "Pat" Ann DeSmith

Patricia “Pat” Ann DeSmith, 90, of Atkinson, passed away on Friday, September 25, 2020, at Hillcrest Home – Geneseo.  A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2020, at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Atkinson.  Father S. Stephen Engelbrecht will celebrate.  Burial will follow at St. Anthony Cemetery.  Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, October 2, 2020, at Vandemore Funeral Homes & Crematory – Atkinson Chapel.  A rosary will be held prior to the visitation, starting promptly at 4:30 p.m.  Memorials may be directed to the Pat DeSmith Memorial Fund that will be distributed amongst Atkinson local charities.  The funeral mass will be live-streamed on the Vandemore Funeral Home Facebook page for those unable to attend.

Pat was born March 18, 1930, the daughter of Adolph “Swede” and Clara (Croegaert) Hoogerwerf, in Atkinson, IL.  She attended Atkinson High School, graduating with the class of 1948.  On September 2, 1950, Pat married Reuben T. DeSmith at St. Anthony Catholic Church.  He preceded her in death on April 26, 2016.  Pat and Reuben were lifelong dairy, grain, and livestock farmers in rural Atkinson, retiring in December of 1991.  She was a member of the St. Anthony Catholic Church, Altar & Rosary Society, Atkinson Women’s Club, and Atkinson American Legion Auxiliary.  She loved baking pies and won several 1st place awards at Atkinson Heritage Days.  She loved playing cards with the Chit Chat Card Club in Atkinson.  She enjoyed canning and baking for her children and grandchildren, playing golf at Ford Hills on a women’s league, and was an avid reader.  After moving to town, Pat crocheted a blanket for all her children and some of her grandchildren.  She was a former member of the Geneseo Moose and loved traveling to different Moose clubs to dance.

Those left to cherish her memory include her children, Marjean (Steve) Laleman, Geneseo, Dick (Cindy) DeSmith, Atkinson, Dave (Kathy) DeSmith, Geneseo, Dan (Linda) DeSmith Atkinson, and Ron (Ann) DeSmith, Atkinson; sixteen grandchildren; fifteen great-grandchildren, with another two on the way; and three sisters-in-law, Betty DeSmith, Geneseo, Rhea Dwyer, Geneseo, and Barb Hoogerwerf, Geneseo.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Swede and Clara; her husband Reuben; brother, Alvin Hoogerwerf; sister, Marjorie Hoogerwerf; and two brothers-in-law, Glenn DeSmith, and Francis Dwyer.