Born on February 12, 1941, Pat was the first child of Frank and Dolly Carroll. She had two younger sisters, Frances and Suzanne.

Pat spent her younger years in Aberdeen, where she attended public school.

While there, she represented the school in high jumping at the Sydney School Carnival.

At 19, Pat married John Stapleford, son of Reginald and Jessie, and they had two daughters, Tracey and Jane.

Pat’s working life was varied.

She looked after Dr John Paradice and his wife Bobby’s children before being the joint owner of the Antique Shop at Aberdeen with husband John, sister Fran and her partner Len.

Pat also drove the family-owned taxi, as well as doing school bus runs, and mail delivery runs for Moonan Flat and Dry Creek.

A job she was devoted to was caring for Dr Nicholas and Sue Locke’s four children.

With her husband, she then became owner/operator of Scone Mobil Garage from July 1978.

After selling the garage, Pat continued to work there as manager until January 1997.

In the 1970s, Pat was one of the leaders of St. Luke’s Scone G.F.S, often taking the group on camping trips, teaching crafts and other varied activities.

Pat’s second marriage was to Kevin Edwards in 1993.

Pat and Kevin, together with both daughters and their families, moved to Tullamore in March 1997 to retire while fulfilling a dream of life on the land.

Not ready to take it easy, they purchased Tullamore Newsagency, which Pat operated.

Pat was a proud recipient of Tullamore Citizen of the Year for her work in the community.

She regularly returned to Scone to visit family and friends.

After Kevin’s sudden passing, Pat remained on the farm at Tullamore until moving to Parkes in 2014, where she remained until her unexpected passing.

She is survived by her children Tracey and Jane, grandchildren Justin, Ethan, Isaac, Savannah and Cassandra,  great grandchildren Sophia and Adalynn, and sisters Frances, Suzanne and families.

Her funeral will be held at St Luke’s Church, Scone, from 2pm followed by the interment at Aberdeen cemetery.