Patricia Bonnie Alston was born October 3, 1961 to the late Ralph and Beulah Gaines in Anderson, South Carolina. She was a 1981 graduate of Daniel High School in Central, South Carolina.

She was a faithful worker at Schilletter Dining Hall in Clemson, SC for 20 years after returning back home from Maryland, where she bore and raised her sons. She also served as a member at New Life Community Church of Truth, in Seneca South Carolina. 

She was a woman of strength and resilience. She will be remembered for how much she loved her family. She had an amazing mind and an immaculate memory. She had the ability to recall any family/life moment from her childhood and took every opportunity to reminisce about the joys of growing up alongside her 12 siblings. When she laughed you immediately knew who was in the room, it was unique and contagious to who she was. Her smile will be remembered by all who loved her.