Patricia (Patt) Ann Barker-Legg loosened the tight shoe of life and stepped onward on her 78th birthday, Jan. 12, 2026. Born in Nettie, WV, she was the daughter of Lora Williams-Barker and Chris Barker – and her spirit never forgot those mountain roots.
She resided in North Carolina for the past two decades, where her reputation as a professional artist truly flourished. She treated creativity like a full-time calling. Patt was an artist to her bones – working primarily in oils, and sometimes in watercolor or acrylic with forays into sculpting – creative in the way some people breathe (constant, necessary, and with flair). Art was her life’s work, her career, her lifelong mission, and the way she moved through the world leaving beauty in her wake. Her art left footprints up and down the East Coast and so did her joy: she was inspirational and friendly, an incredible hostess, a natural entrepreneur, and the life of the party with a spirit that could flip a bad day on its back. Her Phantom of the Opera – themed parties were the stuff of legend, equal parts spectacle, laughter, and love – the kind people talked about long after the last guest went home (you have been blessed if you had a chance to partake in her own self named cocktail, ‘The Pattini’)
Her homes were her living gallery – artful, welcoming, and styled with a warmth and beauty that made you feel instantly cared for. She gathered people the way she gathered ideas – everywhere she went – and she had friends, fans, art students, and kindred spirits who adored her and learned from her.
She loved her children even more – her kids were her everything. She is survived by her daughters, Michelle Smith-Jamison and Tammy Smith-Showell (spouse Michael Showell); her son, Gary Lee “Zeus” Smith (life partner Amanda Thompson); her stepchildren, Laurie Legg-Hedrick (spouse Gary Hedrick) and Clarence Andrew Legg (spouse Michelle Legg); grandchildren Jesse Jamison, Gabriel Jamison, Cassie McHale-Oso, Ezra Showell, Hunter Smith, and Imogen Smith; step-grandchildren Douglas Hedrick, Megan Hedrick-Brown, and Jessica Hedrick; and many step-great-grandchildren.
Patt was preceded in death by her mother and father, Lora Williams-Barker and Chris Barker; her husband, Clarence Kirwan Legg; and her brothers, Chris Barker and Roger Barker.
In lieu of flowers and in her honor, please support your local artists by buying a piece of their art. It made mom’s day when someone supported her creativity.
A celebration of life event may be held at a later date.