Rhonda Willene (Patton) Gillen passed away in her home July 3, in Edgewood, NM.
Rhonda was born November 26, 1957, in Ulysses, to Willie and Marcella Patton.
She attended all 12 grades in Ulysses, where she was active in choir and various clubs.
She was also active in the Methodist Church youth group and was a member of the Bear Creek 4-H Club.
She graduated from Ulysses High School in 1975, and then attended Panhandle State University. She graduated in 1978 with a dual degree in Education and Library Science. That same year she began teaching fifth grade at Sullivan Elementary School in Ulysses.
Rhonda married Herbert Bruce Gillen July 18, 1981, and in September they moved to Pasadena, Calif. There, Rhonda taught third grade at the Pasadena Christian School.
She gave birth to Timothy Gillen May 26, 1986, and John Gillen on February 3, 1989.
They lived in Las Vegas, Nev., from 1990 until 1994. Later, her family moved to Edgewood, NM. While in Edgewood, she received a master’s degree in Language Therapy and taught dyslexic children.
Rhonda loved life despite her struggles with physical illness. She taught children who were dyslexic to help manage their disabilities. Doing so gave Rhonda happiness and joy upon seeing them finally being able to thrive instead of struggle. Rhonda enjoyed reading books, collecting dolls, painting nails, cross stitch, quilting, crochet, video games, dance parties with her sons, exploring new technologies such as VR, coloring books, and so much more.
She was a lifelong learner with a mind that was very mechanically inclined. She was an exceptional pianist and loved the many ways music presented itself in our world. Rhonda encountered people with compassion, curiosity and appreciated getting to know them personally. She accepted people for who and where they were in life and enjoyed their company for however long it lasted.
Rhonda struggled with debilitating, painful headaches since 1983. Yet in spite of her suffering, she never blamed God, never considered herself a victim and remained faithful to her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She is now at peace in Heaven with her Lord and Savior and her son, Timothy. It is with certainty that she was received by her Lord with the words, "Well done good and faithful servant.”
Rhonda is preceded in death by her Grandparents Chester Alvin and Francis Irene Lance, Ermon Quincy and Stella Mae Patton and her son, Timothy Herbert Gillen, who passed away in Edgewood, NM, June 8, 2023.
Those surviving Rhonda are her parents, Willie and Marcella Patton of Ulysses; sisters, Crystal McGlohon and her husband, Bruce, Ulysses, LaRee Smith and her husband, Gary, Puyallup, Wash.; her husband, H. Bruce Gillen, Edgewood, NM; her son, John Gillen and wife, Chelsea; and granddaughter, Sabrina A. Gillen, all of Sterling, Kans.; and many loved nieces and nephews.
Cremation has taken place.
