Patricia "Pat" Lynn Plaxico was born on September 24, 1940, to parents James Marion Plaxico and Minnie Hackler Plaxico.

Plaxico grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and graduated from Glenn High School. She then attended The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC Greensboro) from 1959-1960. Plaxico finished her undergraduate degree in Home Economics at Iowa State University, graduating in 1962. She then continued at Iowa State, earninga graduate degree in design. Plaxico later completed courses in French architecture and furniture at Parson's in New York and fashion marketing at New York University.

Plaxico began her career with Alderman Company in High Point, North Carolina, remaining with the company for 20 years. She originated the concept of having a showroom set up in room scenes, she was immediately recognized for her creativity and worked on numerous major projects relating to the furniture industry.

She was a preservationist and student of history. Her projects have included Market Square in High Point (transforming of a factory into a furniture showroom); the E. J. Victor building; the Grayson House (presently the Bienenstock Furniture Library); restoration of the old Guilford County Courthouse; the High Point Museum; the Golf Club at Roaring Gap; the Historic #1 Fire Station in High Point; the J. H. Adams Inn; the Opera House and Downtown Victorian buildings in Historic Stanford, Kentucky; the library at the North Carolina Governor's Mansion; the Phillips-Davis Building in High Point; campus buildings at High Point University, Duke University and Hollins College; and numerous other historic homes and/or building in North Carolina and the eastern United States.

Plaxico was honored for her work as the first Luminary Award recipient by the International Furnishings and Design Association and Designer of the Year Award by the American Society of International Designers. Plaxico died on January 2, 2018, in High Point.