Perry, GA- Patricia Ann Markham Caudle was born in Durham, North Carolina on November 16, 1936. She came of age in the happy days, graduating from Miami High School in 1955 with the distinction of being the shortest of her classmates – a sweet five feet. Despite her diminutive size, she was bold, sassy and beautiful and hoped to be a movie star one day. Unfortunately, the closest she got was meeting Liberace during her stint as a journalist for the school newspaper.
Right out of high school, she worked for the F.B.I. as a file clerk, a job she found exciting and satisfying. In her free time, she enjoyed the beach, her friends, Elvis Presley and Royal Castle hamburgers. A year and a half later at a New Years’ Eve party she met Charles Caudle when he kept lining up at her Kisses for a Dollar booth. Not long afterward he asked her to marry him and she accepted. His Air Force career and ambitious nature convinced her that he would be a good provider and she already knew he was a darned good kisser. After they wed, they moved to Spain where Charles, a fighter jet pilot was stationed for a few years. She was homesick and cried a lot which her firstborn daughter, Kim, also seemed to do constantly for the first six months of her life. Despite the baby’s many warning cries, within five years Patricia had given birth four times, with Charles Jr. (Chuck) arriving on the scene two years after Kim, Karen a year after that, and David within another year.
By then they had returned to the states and Patricia busied herself as a homemaker. She kept an almost spotless house and became a fantastic cook. She was never afraid to try new things and her family and friends were the grateful recipients of many dinner invitations with unforgettably delicious perfectly prepared main courses, side dishes and scrumptious desserts. We all adored her spaghetti and Meatballs, Turkey and Dressing, Fried Chicken and Cole Slaw, Pork Chops and Black Beans and Rice, Mexican Meatloaf and chalupas. Only David didn’t like her lasagna which he threw on the wall once in protest explaining that it was “just a pretty picture.” She left no cuisine unturned! She even made Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding better than they did in England. And she always welcomed singles of all ages and ethnicities to join the family for a feast.
After a while she went back to work, first returning to the F.B.I, later working for the Burger King Corporation and finally was employed by an architectural firm, Wolfberg Alvarez. Her coworkers always appreciated her wit, work ethic and habit of bringing in delicious treats she’d baked herself to share with them. Although she didn’t have the opportunity to go to college (except briefly in the eighties to study interior design) she educated herself through reading, travel and social interaction. She loved to host dinners and parties and play bridge, traveling widely to play in competitive tournaments and accomplishing her goal of becoming a Life Master.
After about twenty years of marriage she got divorced and never remarried. She always encouraged her children to remain in contact with their dad and each other. She believed very much in family and was especially close to her “Daddy” and Grandmother Joey.
She always had a great many friends, several of which she’d kept from high school until death. Most of them passed away long before she did, despite her many health issues and hospitalizations spanning two decades plus. She loved them dearly and missed them terribly. Only a few of those friends are left to mourn her: Martha Jane, Sigrid, and Pia as well as close friends Jean and Nancy, along with her brothers, Ed (Terry), George (Sheila) and Tom (Debbie), her children Kim, Chuck, Karen, and David and grandchildren Andre, Amy, Carly and Skyla, as well as many nieces and nephews. We are sad that she is gone from us but know that she is now released from her pain and suffering and is resting in Peace. She will be missed.

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