Patrena was born in Provo, Utah 8 April 1943 to Arvil Stubbs Gale and Norma Turpin Gale and was the oldest of four children. Her siblings include a sister Alice Marie Jones deceased (Val) and two brothers Douglas Gale (Cynthia) of Provo and Roger Gale (Sylvia) of California.

Patrena was schooled in Provo. She graduated from BYU and taught physical education in Monticello and Ogden high schools. In 1968-1970 Patrena served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the North British Mission. Upon returning she worked in the finance office at BYU. She eventually met Jeffrey Earl Overton. On 4 June 1977 they were married in the Salt Lake Temple and then moved to Iran where Jeff had a job with a U.S. construction company. They returned home in 1978 and quickly welcomed four children: Amber Jeppson (Matthew) of Bluffdale, Quinn Overton of Virginia, Trudy Warner (Stephen) of American Fork, and Todd Overton of Provo. Patrena delighted in her 11 grandchildren. Friends and family may visit at the Sundberg Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State St., Orem, Utah on Thursday April 2, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Funeral will begin at 11:00 A.M. Friday April 3rd at same location with visitation 9:30 to 10:30 A.M. prior to funeral. Burial will follow at the Provo City Cemetery. Obituary and details also available at Mortuary site.