Patricia "Pattye" Wacaster

Patricia “Pattye” Ann Wacaster, 87, of Bonnerdale passed away peacefully on December 2, 2025. 

She is preceded in death by her husband, JD, parents, Coleman and Linnie Phillips, brother Donald, and sisters Opal Sue and Norma Dean. 

Those left to cherish her memory include her sister, Judy Horton, her two sons: Gerry (Diane) and David (Jackie), two grandchildren: Kathryn (Daryl) White and Eric (Erica) Wacaster, and five great-grandchildren: Jonathan White, Paige Wacaster, Dallas White, Paisley Wacaster, and Andrew Wacaster.

Pattye was born on October 15, 1938 to Coleman and Linnie Phillips and grew up on their farm with her three sisters and brother. She spent her childhood helping her parents on their farm, growing various kinds of produce, but especially sweet potatoes and watermelons. She loved telling her grandchildren and great-grandchildren stories about helping her daddy load watermelons and then, taking them to market where she would lift more watermelons than the boys who assumed they were stronger than her.

Pattye attended a one-room school in Bonnerdale when she was young and graduated from Glenwood High School in 1955. Soon after graduation, she met JD Wacaster, and they married in 1956.

 After relocating to Ft. Worth, Texas, they had Gerry in 1957, and soon after moving to Hot Springs, they had David in 1959. In 1969, they decided to move to Bonnerdale and built a house on her family’s land, where they lived happily for the rest of their lives.

After Pattye’s retirement from Arkansas Power and Light in 1985, she and JD traveled extensively, especially to the western US, and later, they took their grandchildren on these trips, showing them all of the places they had been and allowing them to see parts of the country most children had only heard about. After their grandchildren grew up and had children of their own, JD and Pattye often watched their great-grandchildren, and while adventures were often closer to home instead of all over the US, there were still adventures, and their great-grandchildren were fortunate to have that time with them and will cherish those memories forever.

Pattye was an active member of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Bonnerdale, where she played piano. Numerous generations of church members have been blessed to sing along to hymns with her providing the background music. Growing up as a farmer’s daughter, it’s no surprise that Pattye was an avid gardener. She could often be found planting beautiful flowers and trees around her house. She loved tending to her flower beds and yard and took great pride in growing things and seeing the beauty in all of her hard work.

Pattye was a devoted wife, mother, and “Momo.” Her family knew that she was always there for them, and while she will be greatly missed, they take comfort in the fact that she is reunited with JD in Heaven.

Visitation will be Friday, December 4, 2025 from 6 pm until 8 pm, and the service will be Saturday, December 6 at 10 am, with Eric Wacaster performing the service; both will be held at Smith Family Funeral Home in Hot Springs. Interment will be at Mazarn Chapel Cemetery in Bonnerdale.