Patsy "Sweet Pat" Benoit

Patsy Ruth Benoit, 85, of China, passed away on Monday, July 19, 2021. “Sweet Pat” as she was best known, was born on January 16, 1936 in Orange, Texas to Bennie Lee Gryder and Florence Robbin (Chesson) Gryder.

Sweet Pat was a woman who made an impression on all those she came into contact with over her life. A light in a world where being the “mother-to-all” was a passing notion, Patsy was constantly making her heart and her home a safe place for anyone who needed loving and mothering. Sweet Pat’s ability to calm the storm in any situation was a meaningful blessing to her family in particular as she could always be depended on for anything her husband, children, and grandbabies needed.

Sweet Pat was not your typical mother though. She knew her sports as well as she knew her way around the kitchen. Don’t you dare come between her and her Cowboy’s football games, and if you needed a stat for a baseball team, especially her Astros, she had you covered. From moments spent coaching her son’s team when he was young to commenting on the newest in the MLB over a hand of Gin Rummy, Patsy was always on her game. The definition of thoughtful and resourceful, Patsy was wonderful at finding creative solutions to problems and providing life lessons with her words or perhaps a great book (and if you don’t own a copy of Stain Rescue you might better pick one up!).

Sweet Pat’s children could not have wished for a better example of love and devotion as they grew up watching their parents, and her focus on her entire family was an unwavering constant for everyone. Patsy wore many hats so to speak over the years, from creating and expressing her artistic side to running her own businesses to give her an outlet for her love of cooking for others and “picking” antiques before people even knew being a “picker” was cool. Many miles and moments in Sweet Pat’s life can be fondly remembered as she and PawPaw Richard traveled hunting antiques for Wagon Wheel Antiques and served their community with their own restaurant, Benoit’s Cajun Seafood.

The Benoit family had their very own Annie Oakley in Sweet Pat with her love of hunting and her famous stories of her “two for one” shots. And if that wasn’t enough, Sweet Pat made waves in her younger years water skiing and dazzling onlookers with the fearless nature and daring persona that defined her throughout her life.

It is impossible to summarize the life of such a big person in just a few words, but Sweet Pat lived life to the fullest, at full tilt, for her entire life- loving those around her and setting the best example of motherhood and family that one could ever hope to have. She will be deeply missed by all and her lifetime of memories she left in her wake will continue to shine almost as bright as her smile.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Debbie Mobley and husband Richard, Becky Broussard and husband Gene, and Ricky Benoit and wife Shelly; her grandchildren, Alisa Bristow and husband Blake, Hanna Leger and husband Brad, Kyle Broussard and wife Jana, Cade Broussard and wife Christina, Maddie Sexton and husband Joe, Trey Benoit, Tanner Sullivan, Kaiden Benoit, and Kendell Sullivan; her great-grandbabies, Colton, Liam, Declan, Cambrie, Bronson, Conley, Jennings, and Hayze; her siblings, Peggy Thompson and husband John, Aline Shellhammer, and Diane Allen, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, extended family and friends.

Sweet Pat was preceded in death by her parents, Bennie and Florence Gryder; and her loving husband, “Pawpaw” Richard Benoit.

To honor Sweet Pat's life a Visitation will be held on Thursday, July 22, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Wesley United Methodist Church in Beaumont. Following the visitation, Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 12:00 PM at Wesley United Methodist Church in Beaumont. 

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