Patricia Robins Whitehead, 77, passed away Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018, at Duke University Hospital. She was born Oct. 21, 1941, in Newport News into a loving family who cherished her.
Patricia lived a life of grace, loving others with no reservations. She displayed enormous personal courage.
Patricia was preceded in death by her father, Bernard Lee Robins of Ware Neck; mother, Rosalyn Robins of Poquoson; and niece, Catherine Cary Penton of Bunbury, Australia.
Patricia is survived by her husband, Allen, and their three children, Allen III (Joyce), Gregory (Jeannine) and Elizabeth; older sister, Marcia Hall (Don); and twin sister, Anne Cary (Aubrey). She was a loving grandmother to four grandchildren, Christopher and Courtney Whitehead, the children of Gregory and Jeannine Whitehead; and Kathryn Johnson and Sarah Whitehead, daughters of Allen Whitehead III and stepdaughters of Joyce Whitehead.
She attended Madison College in Virginia. Patricia returned to work at NASA when her children reached their teenage years and retired from her position as program analyst in 1999.
Our family is forever grateful to the doctors, nurses and staff from the Duke Transplant Program. She was gifted with new lungs in November 2011 and enjoyed a full and rewarding life under the care of her Duke medical caregivers. About two years ago, she experienced the symptoms of chronic lung rejection which is an expected outcome of the lung transplant.
A celebration of her life will be held at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, at the Williamsburg Community Chapel, Williamsburg. She will be buried in a family plot at Oakdale Cemetery, Wilmington, North Carolina.
The family asks that any donations be made in Patricia’s name to Donate Life Virginia, 9200 Arboretum Pkwy #104, North Chesterfield, VA 23236. This is the state registry for organ, eye and tissue donation.
Share online condolences with the family at Nelsen Funeral Home.
