Patsy Raye Minton Hamlett

Patsy Raye Minton Hamlett, lover of music and all things purple, passed away on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at her home. Patsy’s health had been declining for several years. Patsy was born February 6, 1933, at the family home on Exeter Avenue, to Judge Charles and Myrtle Laws Minton.

In addition to her parents, Patsy was preceded in death by six siblings; Hazel Brittian, Dr. C.R. Minton, Hansel Offutt, Vannah Petrey, Virginia Pratt, and Charlene White; as well as her husband, Ben F. Hamlett (Jay) and former husband and father of her children, Robert Wilson Reaves.

Patsy grew up in Middlesboro, and for most of her life lived within a mile of her birthplace. A gentle lady, Patsy devoted her life to her family, her church, and her music. She began her lifelong love affair with music at seven years old, when she would walk to Mrs. Ruby Fugates’s home before school for her piano lessons. She served her Lord through her music, playing piano at her beloved Old Yellow Creek Baptist Church for fifty-six years. Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesday evenings would find her on her piano bench at church. Patsy attended Middlesboro Schools and if you happened to talk to her late in life, she would proudly inform you that she had won the Music Award and the Typing Award in high school. She would also mention that she was the Band Sponsor and served as Miss Middlesboro in 1949. She worked unselfishly to provide for her children, for several attorneys in the Middlesboro and Pineville areas and retired from the Kentucky Water Service.

Patsy is survived by her son, Robert Charles Reaves and his wife Mary, of Thorndale, TX, their children, Jacqueline Elizabeth, Charles Michael Edmund, and Samuel Joseph Reaves.

She is also survived by her daughter, Jenny Lynn Reaves Paynter and her husband George, of Clinton, TN, their daughters, Ann Caroline Moles and Ellen Elizabeth Paynter.

She was a doting great-grandmother to Nora Austin, Miriam Minton, Jesse Burton, and Atlas Edward. Each was better looking and more spoiled than any child she had ever seen, to hear her tell it.

Patsy’s special friends included Paige Campbell, Patsy King, and Linda DeBusk, two special sisters-in-law, Ann Ferguson and Pauline (Tunie) Barry.

The family of Patsy Hamlett will receive friends on Sunday, June 14, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Cawood Funeral Home Chapel, Middlesboro, KY. Funeral services will follow at 4:00 p.m. with Reverend Bob Dixon presiding. Music will be provided by Corey Eldridge and Paige Campbell.

Graveside services will be private. Pallbearers will be Neal Howard, Robert Reaves, George Paynter and Junior Burchfield.

A very special thank you to her friends and caregivers, Lola Brock and Teresa Burchfield. Patsy considered Teresa as a second daughter. Thank you, Lola and Teresa, for your nurturing and loving compassion as you cared for Patsy during her last days. Thank you to all those who called or stopped by to visit. You brightened her days. Thank you to the doctors who cared for Patsy: Karen McDaniels, Dr. Neil Barry III, and Dr. James Siddiqui.

“Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her a reward for her labors and let her works praise her at the city gates.”                                                                                                                               Proverbs 31:29-31

Online register book and condolences are available at www.cawoodfh.com.

All arrangements for Patsy Raye Minton Hamlett are under the care of Cawood Funeral Home, Middlesboro, KY.