NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
The driveway at Saint Bernard Academy in west Nashville now bears the name of a former Metro Police Crossing Guard.
Teachers, students, family and friends gathered Wednesday afternoon for the dedication of Miss Pat's Way.
"She was every body's grandmother. She was every body's aunt. She was every body's friend," said Principal Carl Sabo.
Patricia Edmondson was known to the everyone as Miss Pat. She patrolled the area in front of Saint Bernard Academy for 25 years, and she took her job seriously.
"She loved kids and really safety, the safety of the kids most of all," said her son Maurice Edmondson.
"Anybody that knew Miss Pat and saw her work, knows that whistle. I could hear that whistle in my office starting at 7 in the morning," Sabo added.
In May, Patricia Edmondson died after a long battle with kidney disease.
Almost immediately, school leaders began efforts to honor her by officially naming the school's driveway Miss Pat's Way.
Her sons, Maurice and Willie Edmondson, helped unveil the drive marker Wednesday.
"She would've loved it. She really would've loved it," Maurice said. "Especially with the kids, how much they enjoyed it. She would really have a big smile on her face."
Other family members were also at the school to celebrate the dedication.
"She did something she loved, and that's what draws people to smile," said Cynthia Sargent, cousin of Miss Pat.
In 2009, Nashville's News 2 interviewed Miss Pat.
She had recently returned to work after being out for a year due to complications from kidney failure.
Upon her return, her SBA students decided to collect money and walk in her honor at Nashville's annual Gift of Life Walk. Proceeds benefited the Tennessee Kidney Foundation and the National Kidney Foundation.
"When they told me, I just could not believe it," Miss Pat said at the time.
Four years later, the students continue to raise hundreds of dollars in support of the cause and Miss Pat. On September 15, forty students walked in her memory.
Patricia Edmondson was 57 at the time of her death.
For more information on kidney disease, visit the Tennessee Kidney Foundation's Web site, or kidney.org.
