Our dear mother passed away peacefully at her home in Morristown, Tennessee, on May 21, 2023, at the age of 97. Rebecca was born and raised in Etowah, Tennessee, and came to Morristown with her husband and family in 1964. Always active, she played basketball at Etowah High School. She was one of the Manhattan Project Workers at the World War II “secret city” of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and later trained in Knoxville to become a nurse before leaving school to marry Henry Richard Patrick, her husband of 38 years, who preceded her in death. After raising her youngest to school age, Rebecca went to work as an aide at West View Middle School where she retired with 20 years of service in 1997.

She was a longtime member of Buffalo Trail Baptist Church. She enjoyed mystery trips in her retirement all over the US and in Canada with her sister, nieces, and one of her daughters.

Rebecca was the youngest child of Benjamin Franklin Bayless and Hannah Jane Brock and sister to Frankie Bayless Qualls and James Herschel Bayless, all of whom preceded her in death. She was the proud and loving mother of three sons, Steve (Lynnisse), Richie (Debbie), and Jim (Rebekah), and three daughters Rebecca (James) Vesely, Leah (Gary E.) Luck, and Amy (Mark) Rader, and grandmother of nine: Nikki Cole, Adrienne (Corbin) Norton, and Rebecca (Pete) Shockley; Courtney Patrick and Drew (Trent) Dunn; Britany Rader; and Hudson, Connor, and Reed Patrick, great grandmother of 24, and great-great-grandmother of two. She will be dearly missed by all of her family and her many friends.

She will be dearly missed by all of her family and her many friends.

The family would like to express their thanks to the staff of Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice and the Heritage Center, and their deep gratitude to her nurse, Becky Tuttle, who shared her love of dogs and cared for her like family.

Visitation will be at Mayes Mortuary on Friday, May 26, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Graveside services will be on Saturday, May 27, at 10:00 a.m. at Hamblen Memorial Gardens.

Pallbearers will be her grandsons Connor and Reed Patrick, great-grandsons Austin, Riley, and Chase Cole, and grandson-in-law Corbin Norton. Honorary pallbearers will be Mike and Scott Nies, Mark Jaynes, Trent Dunn, and Pete Shockley.

Arrangements by Mayes Funeral Home.