Pamela Feaster

Pamela Hunter Feaster succumbed to the effects of a devastating stroke on July 2, 2020 in Fernandina Beach, Florida. She was born on 4 October 1946 in Sebree, Kentucky to Samuel Emerson and Martina Raye Hunter. She is survived by her husband and best friend Bill Feaster, son Michael Feaster, daughter Felicia Feaster (Bret Wood), stepson Dennis Feaster (Sarah), stepdaughter Andrea Feaster Huisden, brother Jerry Hunter (Pokey), brother Steve Hunter (Laura), five grandsons (Addison, Benji, Carlo, Christian and Jack) and two granddaughters (Emily and Piper). She was preceded in death by her parents and by her sister, Judy Innes.

Pam was happiest when she was doing something for someone else. She was a kind hearted and compassionate women’s health Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, serving both in a private practice in northern Virginia and in the University of Florida’s Maternal Infant Care program. She finished both nursing school and a nurse practitioner program while raising two small children, a mark of the quiet ambition she demonstrated her entire life. She was a devoted, loving mother who passed on her passion for art, music and dance to her children, with annual trips to “The Nutcracker” and to hear Handel’s “Messiah” and regular viewings of beloved films. But she also shared her love with the many mothers and babies she helped throughout her career as an OB/GYN nurse practitioner. For several years she drove the MOMmobile, a mobile maternity clinic serving pregnant women living in the rural counties surrounding Gainesvillle who had little access to maternity care.

Although her work was gratifying, Pam wasn’t satisfied. She saw a need in Gainesville for a safe shelter where young pregnant women could receive proper care and supervision while they finished high school and raised their babies. So in 1999 Pam and several others created a refuge for young, pregnant new mothers, called Pleasant Place.

Though not one to trumpet her own accomplishments, there was no end to the ways Pam Feaster chose to give of herself. She was a graduate of Leadership Gainesville. She served on the board of directors of Pleasant Place and several other nonprofit organizations. She served as a Big Sister to several young girls in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Central Florida program.

Pam also loved to travel. Just last fall she made her bucket-list trip to Ireland with her daughter, son-in-law and grandson, Addison, which included a stop in her family’s ancestral home of Cork and a stay in the Kennedy Suite at Ashford Castle. During several recent summers, Pam, with husband Bill, took one or more grandsons and their two big dogs on RV trips to the national parks out West for months at a time.

And Pam could paint. You name it - oils, watercolors, she particularly loved painting icons using egg tempera paint, a tradition from the Byzantine period. One of her best talents was journaling - keeping a record of events supplemented with multimedia art. She produced some awesome travel logs in this way. As a member of the group known as Journey Day Book, Pam helped give art and journaling classes to inmates at the women’s prison in Ocala.

A longtime resident of the shores of Newnans Lake, Pam loved to kayak and explore Florida’s beautiful, atmospheric swamps. She was known as an excellent cook and gracious hostess for everything from feeding a high school rowing team to serving up a tasty brunch to attendees of an Easter sunrise service conducted in her backyard. She had an effortless way of making all visitors to her home feel welcome.

Pam will be laid to rest at 10 a.m. Friday, July 10 at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery just a short paddle from her home in the beautiful Florida landscape that she so loved.  Due to the pandemic, the graveside service will be limited guests and we ask that you practice safe social distancing. Arrangements are under the care of Countryside Funeral Home, Anthony, FL.