Patricia Gertrude Cassimus Pace passed away gentlyand peacefully - with her loving and devoted husband of 51 years, Ronald Pace, standing loyally by her side - on Sunday, June 3, 2012, after her third and final courageous battle with cancer. She was 70. Visitation for Pat''s dear friends and adoring family will take place from noon until 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 6, 2012, at Elkins Funeral Home in Florence, Alabama. The funeral service will follow at 2 p.m. in the Elkins Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Mike Pope of First United Methodist Church of Florence officiating and Elkins Funeral Home of Florence directing. Burial will follow in the Florence City Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Carl Bailey, Reed Butler, Charley Campbell, Darryl Glascock, Jim Holland and John Riddle. Honorary bearers will be the Sheffield High School Bulldog Boys from the Class of 1956. A native of Florence, Pat was born on Jan. 19, 1942, to Greek immigrant John S. Cassimus and his wife Gertrude, owners and operators of Cassimus Caf, a uniquely popular mom-and-pop restaurant and grocery store in the Weeden Heights community. For more than a half a century, the caf served as an irresistible lunchtime dining institution and a vibrant gathering place for politicians, law enforcement officers, musicians, educators, corporate executives, blue-collar workers and dedicated patrons from all walks of life and every corner of society. Pat worked at Cassimus Caf daily from her childhood untilthe restaurant closed a few years before her father''s death in 1988. Patgraduated from Coffee High School in 1959 and studied secretarial science at Florence State Teachers College before her marriage to Ronald Pace on July 15, 1961. She and Ronaldhave lived in Muscle Shoals for the past 51 years. They built and carefully maintained a beautiful home on Wilson Dam Road, where they raised two sons they loved and supported with unquenchable passion, unswerving devotion and unerring wisdom and guidance. Throughout her life, Pat set an extraordinary example for everyone around her through her invaluable roles as a daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother. She was also a tremendously talented cook, landscaper and gardener and lovedtaking care of her cherishedmenagerie of cats, dogs and horses. Most of all, she always looked forward to attending the church, school, theatre, film and music events that featured her children andgrandchildren. She faithfully supported, promoted and contributed tothose activities in truly exceptional ways. Pat was a proud two-time survivor of breast cancer, having conquered the dreaded disease in 1992 and 1995. For the past two decades, she savored every moment of every day of her life and worked relentlessly to promote breast-cancer awareness and support, encourage and inspire other breast-cancer patients. She was actively involved in Bosom Buddies, Relay for Life and other breast-cancer support programs and became highly respected and deeply adored as both a dynamic speaker and inspirational writer. A woman of strong and abiding Christian faith, she was a member of First United Methodist Church and faithfully attended Sunday school and church services until health challenges in recent years prevented her from actively participating. In addition to her husband Ronald, Pat is survived by her two sons, Terry Pace, and his wife Anita, of Sheffield, and Cass Pace, of Leighton; her two sisters, Betty McCreless, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Norma Glascock, of Florence; and her two treasured grandchildren, Forrest and Alexandra Pace, of Sheffield. The family is deeply grateful for the constant and compassionate professional care of the nurses and staff of the second and sixth floors of Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence and Drs. Pat Daugherty, Gary Hester, Karl Hagler, Edsel Holden, Kay Kirchler, Wesley Marchman, Lyman Mitchell, Felix Morris, Hemant Patel and Joe Webb. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials in Pat''s name to the John S. and Gertrude Cassimus Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of North Alabama, the American Cancer Society, the John Wayne Cancer Foundation, the Sheffield Education Foundation, First United Methodist Church of Florence or the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library.