Patsy Jean "Pat" Harshbarger - Eldredge

Patsy “Pat” Jean Harshbarger Eldredge went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, July 30, 2026, surrounded by loving family.  Services will be held Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at 10:30 AM at Meador Funeral Home Chapel in Whitesboro, TX.  Interment will follow at Sadler Cemetery.  (There will be no visitation.)

Pat was born January 14, 1933 in Sadler, Texas to Theodore “Ted” and Della (Martin) Harshbarger in the same house her father was born.  She was the second of four daughters. Pat grew up in Sadler, TX on a working farm and helped her dad in the fields.  Being a typical farm girl, she spent many a happy day growing up fishing, playing in the barn and first riding the farm horses, and later driving the new Farmall tractor. She graduated from Whitesboro High School in 1950. After graduating, she attended a business school in Dallas, TX while working at a local bank.

In 1954, she met and married James “Jim” Richard Sprouse. Two children were born of that union; Lyresa Sprouse Descoteau and D’Andrea Sprouse Haydel.  That marriage ended in 1958.  Later that same year, she started dating Jimmie Eldredge, a childhood “friend.”  They always called each other names growing up, but after meeting again, their world was different.  They married September 16, 1960, adding Jimmie’s two children, Sheryl Eldredge Voth and Terry Eldredge, to the family.  They welcomed a son, Bryan Mack Eldredge, on November 27, 1965.

In the late 1950s, Pat worked for Anderson/Clayton manufacturing in Sherman as secretary to the General Manager.  She actually typed the original recipe for Seven Seas salad dressing.

After being a stay-at-home mother, she went to work for Early Childhood Intervention in 1973. There she worked with handicapped birth to three-year-old children.  She put her whole heart into helping children learn—teaching them to eat, communicate, sit up, walk, and so much more.  She even taught toddlers to read the signs she posted around her classroom. She created physical therapy approaches and equipment that are still being used today.  She retired in 1989 and she and Jimmie spent much time traveling all over the United States.

In 1993, they bought a shallow oil field near Electra, Texas.  Jimmie and Bryan worked in the oil field for a few years before moving to land that Pat inherited when her mother passed.  It was part of the old Harshbarger homestead, just north of Sadler, TX.  It had been in the family since 1890. As they were both retired, they continued their trips across the United States, enjoyed camping in their van and taking grandchildren with them on some trips.

Jimmie passed in 2016 and Pat continued to live on the property until an unexpected heart surgery failure caused her to move to her oldest grandson’s home in Fort Worth.  To allow her to live, the doctor put her on a portable pump with 24-hour medication to keep her heart beating – an experiment at that time.  There were originally four patients in the world trying this, but all others passed.  She lived four years carrying her pump, affectionately named “George,” everywhere she went.  She still did yard work, she planted flowers and vegetables, she sewed, she truly lived.  This success was paving the way for others – an amazing legacy she leaves behind.

Pat accepted Christ at an early age and always made church a priority. She devoted many years to teaching 4 and 5-year-olds at First Baptist Church in Gainesville, Texas.  Because she never did anything halfway, she spent countless hours preparing for the hour she had those precious children.  Even when health made her unable to attend church in person, she wouldn’t miss the online service at First Baptist Church in Texarkana.

She loved her family dearly and enjoyed get-togethers whenever possible.  Besides the usual celebrations, she and Jimmie hosted an annual cookout in Sadler on July 4^th.  Many family and friends gathered for grilled burgers, watermelon, fireworks, and lots of visiting.

Pat was a talented seamstress and made all her daughters’ clothes while they were growing up.  She started sewing on a treadle sewing machine before she even started school.  By the time her girls were born, she was able to see a dress she liked, make a pattern for a dress, and sew up a beautiful creation.  She also created many baby quilts and heirloom quilts for the family.

Another passion of hers was plants and animals.  She had a vast knowledge of all kinds of plants and loved to share both her expertise and her actual plants with others.  She always had animals and animals loved her.

She is survived by daughters, Lyresa Descoteau and husband Bernard, D’Andrea Haydel and husband David, daughter Sheryl Voth and husband Glenn, son Terry Eldredge and wife Debi, 14 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Ted and Della Harshbarger, husband Jimmie Eldredge, sisters Clorine Harshbarger, Madge Eldredge, and Jerry Sue Parrish, son Bryan Mack Eldredge, grandsons Andrew David Haydel, Cody Wayne Bradshaw, Nathan Palmer and great-granddaughter, Sabrina Cook.