Patricia Edwards Colmenares

Patricia Louise Edwards Colmenares passed away Sunday, June 22, 2003, in Tampa, FL. Patricia was a native of Asheville and was descended from the Matthew and Aaron Patton families of Bee Tree and the Isham Edwards family of Madison County, who were three of WNC’s pioneer families and listed in the 1790 census. She was the daughter of the late Kenneth Edwards and the late Ruth Brooks Edwards and was the step-daughter of the late Joe Rotowitz of New York City. She had lived in Tampa since 1969. Her life was foremost guided by faith in Christ and love of family. Her artistic, public service, and professional accomplishments were nothing short of exceptional. A child prodigy as a singer, she had her own local radio show by age four, performed on numerous occasions at the Grand Old Opry, sang at the inauguration of President Harry S. Truman, and, along with her mother, was archived by the legendary Appalachian music historian Bascombe Lamar Lunsford. Pat was valedictorian of Erwin High School for the class of 56, and was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. During her college years and beyond, Pat toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra, the Tex Beneke Band, and held stints with jazz greats Thelonius Monk and Amad Jamal. She had battled Lupus for more than 20 years and had managed to beat it until recently. Once in Tampa, Patricia developed and hosted Channel 13’s “Pulse Plus” from 1971 to 1983. Her talk show was the first of its kind in Florida, and maintained the largest regional viewing audience in the nation. Pat was probably most gifted as a public servant, never turning away from someone in need, and always creating opportunities to share Christ’s message of love and hope. Such conviction was rivaled only by her boundless energy and personal charisma. For these reasons Pat, along with a group of US Congressional wives, in 1993 formed the Tampa “First Ladies Prayer Breakfast”, which brings together the nation’s political and business leaders to rededicate their personal and professional lives to the principles of Judeo-Christian ethics, and to seek God’s wisdom in all things. Most recently Pat was a leading Realtor and Tampa Bay’s best resource for luxury properties, and like everything else she undertook, she enjoyed the challenge to succeed, but above all, cherished the relationships she developed with her clients and colleagues. In sum, Pat lived through an ineffable desire to explore ideas, find new adventures, seek God’s will for her life, touch people’s hearts, and inspire people to fulfill their potential. Pat is survived by her husband Dr. Nicholas F. Colmenares; her son and daughter, Dr. Nicholas F. Colmenares, Jr. of Tampa and Katharine Patton Colmenares, Esq. of Santa Monica, CA; two brothers, William Edwards and Kenneth Edwards, and a sister, Denise Edwards Goodson, all of Asheville. In addition Pat is survived by a large number of extended family members including nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins located throughout Western North Carolina, and loving companions Jake, Bo, BJ and Angel. Graveside services will be at 2:00 pm Saturday at Bull Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Bull Creek Road, in Mars Hill with the Rev. Dr. Ian Walker officiating. Following the services family and friends are invited for a meal and fellowship at the home of her sister and brother-in-law Denise and Leroy Goodson, 194 Cedar Mountain Road, (Butler Mountain), Asheville. Her family will receive friends from 7 - 8:30 pm Friday at Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue. Memorials may be made in Pat’s memory to Bull Creek Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 2116 Bull Creek Road, Mars Hill, NC 28754 or to WNC Humane Alliance Spaying Neuter Clinic, 231 Haywood Street, Asheville, NC 28801.