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Robin Albright proudly wore her blue and white patent leather Mary Janes. The golf shoes perfectly matched her red blazer and navy skirt.

Albright’s attire wasn’t exactly normal wear for a funeral service. But this wasn’t a normal funeral. This was a celebration Saturday morning at the Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord in Fort Myers.

It was Patty Berg’s day. It was a day to pay tribute to the golf legend. Berg died Sept. 10 at the age of 88.

“I might look a little out of place, but I don’t care,” said Albright, a teaching professional at Cypress Lake Country Club, Berg’s home course. “Patty would’ve loved my outfit.”

Patty would have loved it all.

From the large gallery to the quick one-liners, Berg had to be smiling.

The pews were filled with family. Her closest relatives sat on the left. Her fellow LPGA competitors sat to the right. In the first row, the players accounted for exactly 300 professional wins. And from 23-year-old Estero High grad Catherine Cartwright to 87-year-old LPGA co-founder Betty Jameson, they all shared a bond that Berg helped create.

They laughed. They cried. They applauded.

Yes, the crowd applauded. It was as if Berg had added another major championship to her record women’s total.

“You don’t hear applause too much at a funeral,” said Father Stephen McNamara, who presided over the service. “But Patty deserved it.”

They came from California. They came from her home state of Minnesota. They came from the LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach.

They all came to Berg’s second hometown.

“We once put on the scorecard at Cypress Lake, ‘Home of Patty Berg’¤” Albright recalled. “Patty said, ‘I like that, but you better change it because I don’t want to upset anyone in Minnesota.’”

Fort Myers always claims to be the winter home of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Berg had them both beaten. She had the personality to light a room and could out-drive most of the men.

And Berg cared about Fort Myers. From starting junior golf tournaments to donating money to cancer research, Berg gave more then she ever received.

“Patty would never say, ‘no,’¤” Albright said. “She always said, ‘yes.’ When it came to helping her community, she was always there.”

Now it’s time for us, Lee County and Southwest Florida, to do something for her. We should do something to remember Berg’s impressive legacy.

There is Patty Berg Drive off Winkler Avenue. But a little loop through a neighborhood doesn’t seem to fit someone with 60 professional wins. There’s the Henke/Berg Junior Masters. It’s a nice touch but let’s think bigger.

Cypress Lake Country Club head pro Ron Leatherwood suggested renaming Southwest Florida International Airport. But Berg had a fear of flying.

Finding a fitting tribute might be tough.

How about Patty Berg Day? It can be a county holiday. It could be a day to laugh. It could be a day to play golf. It could be a day to wear your golf shoes to church or the grocery store or wherever you wanted.

Much like Saturday’s service, it would be a day Patty Berg would have enjoyed.

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E-mail Tom Hanson at tahanson@bonitanews.com.