It was where she baked thousands of loaves of bread and other goodies including her famous blackberry pies, “crazy cake,” cinnamon rolls, and strawberry shortcake, and where she always made popcorn balls at Christmas time. It was where she grew bountiful gardens and loved to do yardwork, even well into her 90s. It was where she spoiled many pets, including all the birds and squirrels that she faithfully (over)fed from her deck. It was where they raised their children, Brian and Jean, and, later, helped to raise their grandchildren, Aimee and Abbi, and their great-grandchildren, Brad, Mason and Hailey.

Pat was so proud to live in the home she and Eddie built together in 1955. After a short time living in Milwaukee, the couple settled in the Town of Hull. Catherine’s Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This is where she would meet her husband, Eddie, when he was visiting the area on a fishing trip.Īfter just a six-month courtship, Pat and Eddie were married on February 18, 1950, at St. When not working on the farm, her summers were spent across the road, on and in Wadley Lake. It was on that farm that Pat learned the value of hard work, practiced her strong commitment to family, and developed a great love for animals. Pat was born on May 15, 1929, on the kitchen table of the family farmhouse on the Bentley homestead in Shantytown, WI, to Ignatius “Nick” and Iva (née Bentley) Rutkowski. If you like that sort of thing, you can have my copy, since this definitely not a a 'must reread' genre for me.Patricia “Pat” Bleyer, of Stevens Point, passed away at home on May 9, 2023, at the age of 93. The strong Christian ethic made me feel a little less guilty about my addiction to throwaway literature, but really this was a pretty average example of the cheap romance novel.

Pretty predictable mediocre mass market paperback romance, but it was just good enough that I could play along and pretend the story was realistic, and, as is usually the case with cheap romance novels (classy or trashy), I got sucked in and had to read most of it in one sitting. Surely young and unconventional Nicole can't be a woman called to be a pastor's wife, but then why can't Marcus stop getting involved in her life? At the same time he's thrown into the struggles of Nicole and Beau Archer, siblings suffering under the rule of an alcoholic father. Celebrating his 30th birthday, Marcus wonders when God will answer his prayer for a wife. Part of the Love Inspired Christian Romance series, James's A Love So Strong tells the story of Pastor Marcus Wheeler, whose sisters' stories were told in early books by James.

A Love So Strong by Arlene James