Patricia Joann Phelps Nesbitt was born March 20, 1947, in Sidney, NE, to Chester Vincent Phelps, Sr. and Catherine Teresa Phelps, the youngest of three children. She passed away on January 9, 2023, in Buckhannon, WV, after a courageous three year battle with cancer.
During her early childhood she grew up on a farm south of Kimball, NE. The family moved into the town of Kimball when she was six years old and she attended elementary and junior high school in Kimball schools. In 1961 she and her parents and brother moved to Lorenzo, NE, where Patty attended Lorenzo High School and graduated in one of the last classes from that school in 1965. Her graduating class consisted of her and one other student. Due to the low enrollment, Lorenzo Schools were consolidated with the Sidney Public Schools the following year.
Upon graduation from high school she worked for the phone company in Sidney, NE, for a period of time until she moved to the Washington, D.C. area where she was employed by a wholesale office furniture distributor in inventory control and sales. She met Patrick Burns and they were later married in Kimball, NE. They settled in Maryland, south of D.C. and later divorced. Patty continued to work in the wholesale furniture business in Washington D.C.
While working in D.C. she met Alfred M. “Butch Nesbitt. They were married on September 1, 1990, and remained married until Patty’s death. Patty and Butch moved to Windsor CO, and Patty worked for a Wholesale Office Furniture company in Denver. She and Butch later moved to Buckhannon, WV, where she was the Executive Director for the West Virginia Board of Examiners of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from 2008 until she retired in 2022. During her tenure she was responsible for the licensing of speech and audiology professionals for the entire state of West Virginia and for Professionals from neighboring states who practiced in West Virginia. In 2022 Patty was recognized by the National Council of State Boards for her contributions on a national level to advance consumer protection. In Santa Fe she was recognized again in 2023, for 15 years service to the WVBOESLPA where they stated, “AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL, YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF SO MANY THANK YOU.”
Patty Jo was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Rose Anderson. She is survived by her husband stepchildren, Pam Coughlin, Roy Nesbitt and Jeff Armentrout, three step grandchildren, Kristen. Alayna and Roy Wade; brother, Vincent Phelps and sister, Nancy Huff, brother in law, Roger Anderson; nephews Brian Phelps and Jamie Jackson; niece, Shellie Whitfield, numerous other grand. nieces and nephews, relatives and friends.
No funeral services are scheduled at this time at Patty’s request. A memorial service celebrating her life may be arranged by the family at a later date, time and location to be announced.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.polingstclair.com. Poling-St. Clair Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
