Patsy Page McLamb

Patsy Page McLamb died on January 15, 2025, at Goldsboro Assisted Living in Goldsboro, NC. She was 88. Born on November 1, 1936, to Lena Rivers Pope and Esrom ("Mr. Mac") McLamb, Patsy was a life-long resident of Goldsboro. She and her sisters Susan and Polly grew up on Grantham Street. Just down the block was The McLamb Monument Company, which Mr. and Mrs. McLamb founded and ran. Like her sisters, Patsy was a stellar student and was Chief Marshall as well as valedictorian of the Class of 1954 at Goldsboro High School. Patsy always had a great sense of humor, and the quote next to her senior photo was "Everything I want to do is either illegal, immoral, or fattening." Patsy married Gordon Traylor Combs in 1956 and they had two children, Jeffrey Gordon and Molly "Teense" Dare (Teense being short for Teensy). The marriage ended in divorce. Patsy once recalled that when Jeff and Molly were young, she heard Jeff checking in with his younger sister by yelling out: "Ya'awnt me, Teense? Ya'awnt me?" (Translated from the Southern: "Do you need my help, Teensy?") In 1959, Patsy received her B.S. in Nursing from Duke University School of Nursing. She returned to Goldsboro and worked as a registered nurse for many years, including some time at the psychiatric unit at Cherry Hospital. Patsy was an esteemed and active member of the Goldsboro Bridge Club for nearly 40 years and for much of 1983 wrote the News-Argus's Bridge Club column after Bill Bowden took a leave. Just as Goldsboro's downtown was in the midst of restoring its store facades in the mid-90s, Patsy discovered estate sale auctions. She had a great eye for furniture and not enough places to put it. So in April of 1997 she turned her hobby into a business and opened City Girls Vintage Shop (first called Walnut Street Trading) at 127 E. Walnut St. The shop sold furniture, dishware, and linens, and was immensely successful. For years Patsy had been urging Goldsboro to appreciate and put work into its downtown and City Girls made her a key part of its revitalization. A short year and a half later, Patsy was named Goldsboro Downtown Development Corporation's Outstanding Merchant of the Year. City Girls remained a fixture in Goldsboro for almost 20 years. Patsy is survived by her son, Jeffrey Gordon Combs of Stantonburg, NC; her sister, Susan Jane Roberts (Eugene) of Bath, NC, and New York, NY; her grandchildren Traylor Eastham (Tyler) of Hopewell, VA, and Christopher Blake Combs of Wayne County; great-grandchildren Stella May and Grady William Eastham of Hopewell, VA; nephews David Moore Jr. (Leslie) of High Point, NC, and Wesley Moore (Carolynn McMahan) of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL; nieces Leslie Jane Roberts of Brooklyn, NY; Margaret Page Roberts (Barry Zevin) of San Francisco, CA; Elizabeth Susan Roberts of New York, NY; and Polly Ann Roberts (Noah Belson) of Los Angeles, CA; grandnieces and grandnephews Emma Rose Zevin (Aswin Alexander) of San Francisco, CA; Braeden Moore Newman (Will) and William Moore of High Point, NC; and Wiley R. Guillot of Brooklyn, NY; and one great-grandniece, Anaya Pearl Alexander, of San Francisco, CA. An interment service will be held at another date at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery. Patsy's family is appreciative and thankful to all who have shown them love and kindness. A special thank you to the social workers and caregivers at both Gentiva Hospice and Goldsboro Assisted Living for the wonderful care and company they provided Patsy. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or to the charity of your choice.

Patsy Page McLamb

November 1, 1936 - January 15, 2025