Obituary of Patricia Joan (Amsden) Rich

Pat, or Joan, as she is better known locally, passed away Monday, February 27, 2023, after a week of care at the Suwannee Valley Hospice Care Center in Lake City, Florida, with her family in attendance. Her residence for the past 23 years was in Lake Butler, Florida. She was born in Rosiclare, Illinois, August 26, 1945, to Haze R. and Beulah Conger Amsden and married Vernon Rich, October 22, 1981, in San Marcos, Texas.
She received her elementary and secondary education for Rosiclare schools and had fond memories of her last attendance at her 1963 Class Reunion in 2017.
Surviving are her husband; daughter, Melissa-Jo Amsden Rich (Mark) Wagner; grandsons, Augustus and Samuel of Wilmington, North Carolina; stepdaughters, Caroline J. (Greg) Ortiz of Conifer, Colorado, and Karin N. (Nick) Kellem of Castle Rock, Colorado; step son, Michael B. (Cheryl) Rich of Cape Girardeau, Missouri; 11 grandchildren; and 4 great-grandchildren in her extended family.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Jill, who died at birth in 1941; and, one brother, William, who lived in Florida with Pat/Joan and Vern until Bill’s death in 2009.
After graduating from Rosiclare High School with her Class of 1963, she graduated from John A. Logan College in 1970, and Southern Illinois University in 1973 with a BS in Criminal Justice and an MS in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1976.
She worked professionally as Academic Advisor in the Administration of Justice Department at SIU; Correctional Counseling and as Ombudsman for state departments of corrections in Virginia and Florida; and, taught part-time at Radford University in Virginia, VA Polytechnic Institute, and State University in Virginia. She retired in 2012 and has lived in Lake Butler for the past 23 years.
While at home in Rosiclare, Pat/Joan attended the Rosiclare Church of Christ with family members. She chose cremation, with has been afforded and her ashes will be placed in or near her family’s lots in Fluorine Cemetery in Rosiclare (a.k.a. IOOF Cemetery) at a brief memorial service at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, June 17. Robert Stone will give a eulogy and cover some fond memories.

To buy flowers and gifts locally, visit www.RosiclareFlowerBasket.net .