Mott, Patti

Patti Mott, 77, of Iowa City, died Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2012, at Mercy Hospice Care of Iowa City of pancreatic cancer. Her family had been at her side since she went into Hospice care. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, at Zion Lutheran Church, with Pastor Mark Pries officiating. Patti planned the celebration of her life and asked that everyone dress casually. Private family burial will be held. Friends may call at Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service, Iowa City, on Monday, Aug. 13, from 3 to 7 p.m.

Patti requested memorial donations be made to Zion Lutheran Church, Iowa City Parks and Recreation Services for Log Cabin Restoration, Mercy Hospice Care of Iowa City or Iowa City Community Theatre.

Patti was born July 23, 1935, in Peoria, Ill., the daughter of William and Bert Williams Crawford. The family moved to Iowa City in 1944. Patti graduated from Iowa City High School in 1953 and attended the University of Iowa. She married John Mott on Jan. 31, 1954, in Iowa City.

She worked in the family business, Mott's Drugstore, for many years running the perfume and cosmetics department. She also taught theatre classes. Patti was one of the founding members and former president of Iowa City Community Theatre and also was the founder of Iowa City Footliters, in which all of her children and grandchildren had participated. She was a member of SSRO (Seniors Standing Room Only), WWW (Whimsical Women of Wednesday), Entre Nous, Zion Lutheran Church and Zion Theatre Ministry.

Patti served on various committees through the Robert Lee Recreation Center and was an adult adviser for Girl Scouts and the International Order of Rainbow for Girls. She was a former member of Altrusa, T.T.T. and Amring.

Patti was a prolific writer of plays for children, adults and her church, Zion Lutheran Church. She still used a typewriter, not making the transition to computers, but always had another idea and production in the works. She had boundless energy, could talk for hours on the phone and always had many irons in the fire. She loved working with children and adults in the theatre. But for Patti, her greatest love was for family, who will miss her tremendously.

Survivors include her husband, John of Iowa City; her five children, Vicki Lensing and her husband, Rich Templeton, of Iowa City, Lisa Mott and her life partner, Doug Bishop, of Villa Grove, Colo., Brett Mott and his wife, Ani Supriyanti, Rory Mott, and Tara Mott and her husband, John Helmsley, all of Iowa City; three grandchildren, Amanda Lensing and Alex Lensing, both of Iowa City, and Nick Lensing of Austin, Texas; her brother, William Crawford Jr. and his wife, Carol, of Cedar Rapids; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her aunt; her in-laws, Charles and Helen Mott; and a brother who died in infancy.

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Published Aug. 10, 2012 in The Gazette