Harriet Paty

Harriet Sims Paty, of Chattanooga, died on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, at the age of 94. She was the daughter of NL and Frances Sims of Birchwood, Tenn. She graduated from Central High School and Edmondson Business School and retired from Combustion Engineering in 1985 and Arthritis Associates in 2008, where she worked as a receptionist and later as a clerk until she was 88 years old. She was preceded in death by her husband of fifty one years, John Garland Paty and her son Dan Sims Paty and daughter-in-law Katherine Dickinson Paty. Survivors include Mack, her Yorkshire Terrier; her two children, John G. Paty Jr. (Charlotte), of Soddy-Daisy and Sherry Douglas Volkert (Leon), of Bowling Green Ky. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren call her Shorty, a name given by her husband John, as she was about a foot shorter than he. Her granddaughters are Katy Veal (Chris) of Lookout Mountain and Sarah Volkert (Ken) of Bowling Green Ky., and Charlotte Lamirand (Chris) of Atlanta. Grandsons are Christiaan Volkert (Ann Marie) and Gable Volkert (Mandy) of Bowling Green Ky., Dan Paty (Michelle) of Lookout Mtn., and John Paty III (Connie), and Christopher Paty (Samantha) of Chattanooga. Her seventeen great-grandchildren include great-granddaughters Sydney, Chapel, Maclaine, Carson, Knox, and Sloane of Bowling Green Ky.; Mary Katherine and Chloe of Lookout Mountain; Ellie and Caraline of Chattanooga; and great-grandsons McGavock and Parker of Lookout Mountain, Jacob of Bowling Green Ky, and Gabe and Jack of Chattanooga, step great-grandsons, Will and Sam; sister-in-law, Selma Cash Paty; nieces and nephews, Ralph, Gaye, Pam, Kim, Charlie, Bunny, AL, Pat, and Peggy, and special thanks to her niece Adair who took her to the doctor, out for lunch on Sunday afternoon at Captain Ds, and played dominoes with her; and to Bobby Nation who came to the house for hair dressing. Even though she and John could barely afford it, she devoted the majority of her income for their childrens private high school education, an effort that she and John never gave up, despite the financial obstacles. She was known for her sharp wit and stylish dress, which she continued until she became ill. She was one of a kind. Before she quit driving, some exasperated Chattanoogans may remember being behind her as she drove to and from home to Arthritis Associates in Hixon in her white Mitsubishi convertible across Thrasher Bridge at fifteen miles an hour, only to be greeted by an unfriendly hand gesture and smirk from an 88 year-old proxided blonde whose head was barely visible over the dashboard, as they honked their horn and sped by. During the summers of the fifties through the eighties, she and John and family and friends spent the week-ends on Chickamauga Lake boating and skiing and drinking lots of beer and bourbon, until they decided to give up the lake-life for a quieter one in an East Brainerd home, with an in ground pool, where she continued to live until her death. Most of John and Harriets friends have been deceased for years, including Bill and Lillian, Spitty, Buddy Cobble, Bobby Lackey (Phyllis) and Bobby Fansler, Carolyn, and others. Her Yorkshire Terrier Mac was her constant companion, one of her many over the years, including Bobby, Honey, Joey, and others. She was well cared for at home until her death, and much thanks to Hospice of Chattanooga and the homecare companions and caregivers, particularly Summer, Debbie, and Brenda. And special thanks to the Partners and "girls" at Arthritis Associates who were so kind to her, especially, Kristie Terrell and Marian Wint-Gilbert RN. A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, at the East Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, 404 S. Moore Road. Entombment will be in Chattanooga Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Donations to Hospice of Chattanooga in lieu of flowers are requested. Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com.