CEDAR CREEK, Texas
— On February 2, 2021, Pat Cecelia Pine Darnell left her body to be “present with the Lord,” according to St.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:8 – a promise she believed and treasured with all her heart. Pat was always happy to have been born on Christmas Day, 1931.
Born in El Dorado, Ark., to Ruby (Miles) and Lamar Pine, she grew up in south Arkansas and Hot Springs. She had one brother, Lamar Barclay Pine (Sr.). She began piano lessons at age six with Anna Smead, a music instructor who had studied at the Paris Conservatoire of Music with some of history’s greatest composers. Pat began playing for her church at age 12 and continued her music studies at Southwestern Junior College and privately with Dr. John Summers in Little Rock. She began teaching piano at age 15. She taught piano, organ and voice during her years in Iran and later at the Gerald Neal Piano and Organ Company in Hot Springs and at Colaianni Piano and Organ Company in Little Rock. Vocal studies with Dr. Arno Tourel in Little Rock resulted in four years of performances in cameo opera, where she enjoyed being the contralto – “always the witch,” she would say. She was organist and choir director for several churches over the years, retiring from Parkway Place Presbyterian Church in Little Rock in 1988.
Pat had four terrific children for whom, in her words, she “would fight or kill”: Laurie Lamar DeWitt, married to Joyce (Moseley); Jerry Lyndon DeWitt, married to Margaret (Symonds); Patti Jo DeWitt; and Tamara Suzanne (Darnell) Byrd, married to Robert Byrd. Pat had seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son, Jerry; her brother, Lamar; and two grandchildren, Joel and Cecelia Johnson.
In 2014, Pat lost her husband of 43 years, Daniel Boone Darnell, Jr. Dan was not only her life partner, he always there to support Pat’s musical projects and keep her instruments in tune.
Pat wrote a few books over the years: All Dressed Up and No Place to Go, her autobiography; Boom!, a novel about the discovery of oil in south Arkansas in the 1920’s; and Our Backyard Zoo, a book for children that tells stories of the many animals encountered in Dan and Pat’s Arkansas backyard. She also produced a series of Bible stories for children: Grannie Pat’s Bible Stories. Pat also enjoyed writing letters and editorials to her local newspapers; The Hot Springs Sentinel-Record and The Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock) and was known by many for her engaging and thought-provoking writings.
A memorial service will be held in Hot Springs at a later date, yet to be determined. An announcement will be made when the date has been set. The family can be contacted at 512-559-5231.