Francine (Pat) Lanpher Compton passed away comfortably in her sleep from mesothelioma on May 19 at her home in Brentwood with her loving husband by her side. She was 80. Born on November 28, 1931 in Providence, Rhode Island, Pat attended Mary C. Wheeler School in Providence and Emma Willard in Troy, New York. She graduated with honors in art from Skidmore College in Troy in 1953. Pat met her husband, William (Bill) Compton of Los Angeles while skiing in Aspen, Colorado. They married in May 1959 and moved to Brentwood in 1960. She devoted her time to her three children and her art, specializing in watercolor and oils. She painted house portraits of many homes from Pacific Palisades to Hancock Park. Every August, Pat would start working on her Christmas chocolate-house business. By December, her houses, covered with her ‘snow,’ m&m’s, gumdrops, candy canes and peppermints, adorned many homes, beach clubs and country clubs on the Westside. Pat also loved the outdoors. She skied, sailed, hiked and played tennis. She and her daughter, Eleanor, won the 1997 National Senior Mother-Daughter Grass Court Tennis Championship. Pat loved swimming in the ocean and playing paddle tennis at the Bel-Air Bay Club in the Palisades, where she was a devoted member. She took pride in the club and put a lot of heart into keeping it beautiful and adding artistic touches. In her travels, Pat painted many watercolors of scenic spots around the world, including in Little Compton, Rhode Island’her second home which she visited three times annually’and especially in the Palisades. In addition to her husband, Pat is survived by her three children, Elizabeth, Lawrence, and Eleanor; one sister, Margaret Walmsley, in England; seven granddaughters and three great-granddaughters. She was preceded in death by one sister, Dinny LaFage. A memorial service and celebration of Pat’s life will be held at the Bel-Air-Bay Club on June 8 from 2 to 5 p.m.
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