Patricia “Patty” Ann (Collins) Austin, 79, of White Owl, SD, was promoted from this earth to the joys of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on October 11, 2024 after a short stay at the Hospice House in Rapid City, SD. She was surrounded by her family singing her to Jesus and thanking her and God because she loved us well. She was a good Christian but also a soldier for Jesus.
Patty was born on March 15, 1945, to Lloyd H. and Ruth (Sisk) Collins in Sturgis, SD. She was the baby girl of the family. She attended school at Vale Elementary, 1st-4th and Fairview country school 5th-8th. Then she rode the bus into Newell for High School.
Patty and her mother enjoyed raising 100 ducks. She loved to watch them swim on the dam nearby. Also in the summer time, she enjoyed helping her mom in the big garden. They would sit together in the garden eating a big watermelon.
She was active in 4-H as a kid. Then became a 4-H leader when her children were in 4-H, helping will all the projects. Patty was a music lover. She learned to play the accordion. One of the songs she learned was “You Are My Sunshine”. She was asked to play at the Butte Electric annual meeting for the entertainment when she was in high school.
Patty married her husband, Jerome Oakley Austin (of 60 years) on September 23, 1962 in Newell, SD. Together they lived and worked on the White Owl Ranch milking cows and selling cream to the then Sturgis Cheese Factory when it opened. They also raised hundreds of chickens and sold eggs to the Sturgis Chicken Hatchery, all while raising their four children. She helped with Sunday School and VBS and was baptized along with her husband Jerry.
Patty was a cook for the Sturgis Hospital while the boys were in high school. She also drove bus for the Sturgis bus company for 32 years. She loved her school bus kids like they were her own. Remembering one time playing an April Fool’s joke on them.
Then in 2012 she had to quit driving bus and started dialysis in Rapid City for two years. Then God blessed her with a new kidney in March of 2014. We got to keep her with us for 10 more years until she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Patty was a master maker of just about anything. Cooking the best meals at branding time. Making popcorn balls for school bus kids and planting a huge garden. She was a lover of laughter with a beautiful smile and a loving heart full of love for all whom she knew. Everyone would say she was the best mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, aunt, cousin and bus driver, with a beautiful heart that thought of others before herself.
Grateful for sharing her life are sons; Bryan Austin, Bradley (Missy) Austin, and daughter; Sunshine (Quentin) Gerbracht, 10 grandchildren; Derek (Jane) Austin, Aaron Austin, Zachary Austin, Zane Austin, Channing (Kristen) Austin, Morgan (Eric) Whites, Beau Austin, Kayla (Cameron) Koch, Dalton Gerbracht (Shelby), Daniel (Payton) Gerbracht, 9 great-grandchildren; Mariah, Shaniah, and Alanah Spring, Kinsley and Natalie Austin, Paisley, Case, Kopper, and Baby Koch, brother; Milton (Faye) Collins, sisters-in-law; Georgia Collins and Wendy Collins, and many nieces and nephews.
Patty was preceded in death by her husband; Jerome Austin, parents; Lloyd and Ruth Collins, son; Barry Joe Austin, granddaughter; Sarah Marie Austin, her mother-in-law; Beatrice Austin, sister; Nedra “Dory” Ingersoll, brothers; Eugene Collins and Ronnie Collins, and brother-in-law; Everett Ingersoll.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024 at 1:00pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Sturgis, SD, with a visitation one hour prior. The burial will take place at Bear Butte Cemetery with a luncheon to follow. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.kinkadefunerals.com.
