PATRICIA (PAT) BURKHART ODEN 1938-2023
After a lifetime filled with love and laughter, Pat Oden, 84, passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, January 22nd. At her side were her beloved husband of 63 years, Jerry, and their children, Murray, Leigh Anne, and Marian.
Patricia Burkhart was born on March 13th, 1938 in Houston, Texas. Her mother preceded her in death when Pat was only five years old, so she spent a large portion of her childhood with family in nearby Georgetown. When her father remarried, Pat moved back to Houston with Carl and her new step-mother Rosalie.
She graduated from Lamar High School in Houston and the University of Texas in Austin. At both schools, Pat developed many lifelong friendships, including with a number of her sisters in UT’s Tri Delta sorority. Recently, Pat compared stories of her sorority shenanigans with those of her granddaughter Lucy, who is currently living in a sorority. Pat won. (Winning story: the time a nearby fraternity poured either lighter fluid or gasoline – she couldn’t remember and it doesn’t matter – into the rain gutters of the Tri Delta house and lit them on fire.)
Anyway, Pat and Jerry met on a blind date in 1955, when she was a senior in high school and he was a freshman at Texas A&M. They went to a Rice vs. Texas A&M football game, and school tradition calls for Aggies and their dates to kiss whenever A&M scores. But at this particular game, on this particular blind date, when A&M scored, Jerry didn’t. Pat refused to kiss him. Jerry thought “well, she’s a keeper.” Pat eventually came to the same conclusion, and they married in 1960.
While raising 3 children, Pat also embarked on a long career in education. Driven by boundless curiosity, she was a life-long learner who cherished sharing what she learned with students of all ages. She taught at several noted early education schools in Houston, and after receiving her master’s degree in geography from Texas A&M, retired as an Adjunct Professor of Geography at York College in Pennsylvania.
Over the years, Pat and Jerry weren’t afraid to make big moves together. Chronologically, they created comfortable and loving homes in: Houston TX, Aberdeen MD, Houston TX, Whittier CA, Houston TX, Fort Worth TX, York PA, and Sequim WA.
Their shared natural curiosity and eclectic interests led Pat and Jerry down some unexpected paths. For example, in Ft. Worth TX, they took their love of sailing to the next level by becoming the owners of a sailboat dealership. While they had countless adventures on the water, Pat might be best known as someone who accidentally left her car in gear where she shouldn’t have, enabling a Ford Mustang to roll down a boat ramp and sink into the murky depths of Eagle Mountain Lake.
After years of an East coast adventure in York, PA, they retired in 2004, and moved west to Washington, to be near their kids and grandchildren. Settling in Sequim, Pat and Jerry developed a large community of dear friends centered around St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and the Sequim Bay Yacht Club. (They were allowed to join the Yacht Club presumably because the members had not yet heard about Pat’s notorious boat ramp skills.)
Pat had a deep love for every church she attended in her life, and St. Luke’s was no exception. She was deeply involved in numerous facets of church life, because, sometimes to Jerry’s concern, she always said “yes” – she volunteered for anything and everything. Whether she was delivering Meals on Wheels, working on the Altar Guild, serving on the Vestry, or cooking for “Soup’s On,” Pat lived to help.
In addition to sailing, Pat’s outdoor passions included golf, fly fishing, and rock collecting.
She loved rocks, some might say too much, and returned from every excursion with a rock or two in a pocket. In fact, she was once stopped by airport security and denied boarding an international flight because her carry-on luggage contained too many rocks. (If you need a nice rock, ask Jerry.)
Pat loved to travel, and especially with her daughters. Their last trip took them to Holland, Switzerland, and France. While they were soaking in every sight that Pat’s leisurely pace would allow, they were also giggling and laughing until they cried.
Pat was an avid reader, and loved doing puzzles and playing games. Her competitive nature meant that she wouldn’t hesitate to defeat her very young grandchildren at board games – done with absolute love, of course. “It makes them tougher,” she’d laugh.
Pat’s lifelong infatuation with art flourished after she retired from teaching. She embraced her love of color and geometry, and to the endless pride of her family, became an award-winning fiber artist. Her art has been shown in numerous galleries and venues around the Olympic Peninsula, and one of her works was accepted for the prestigious Quilt National 2011, an international-juried exhibition of the country’s best contemporary quilts. A piece titled “9 Patch / 26 Triangles” appeared in the show that traveled to art museums around the country. Pat’s amazing pieces inspired many others to take up the art, and her impact will be treasured forever by those lucky enough to experience it. One of her quilts can be seen in the sanctuary of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and a small sampling of her body of work can be seen at PatriciaOden.com.
Pat is survived by her devoted husband of nearly 63 years, Jerry; brother Guy Burkhart and his wife Robyn; son Murray and his wife Mary; grandchildren Wyatt and Lucy; daughter Leigh Anne and her partner Scott Davis; and daughter Marian and her husband Lance Jenn.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association, or St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sequim, Washington.
Pat’s funeral service will be held at 11:00 am at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 11th.
