Pat was born in Inglewood, California to Stanley Charles Simiskey, Jr and Julia Dacy Keller Simiskey on October 9, 1940. He married his high school sweetheart, the former Saundra Ann Temple, on September 1, 1965 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pat and Sandy had six boys and were happily married for 53 years. They are sealed together for time and all eternity.
At age 19, Pat served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Southern Far East Mission, laboring in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He then resumed his collegiate studies and, in 1967, received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University.
Pat worked for The Dow Chemical Company for 36 years designing and building chemical plants around the world before retiring to do the same for Huntsman Corporation for five years.
Despite his global work assignments, Pat and Sandy brought their family to live in Lake Jackson on three separate occasions and for more than half of their lives – from March 1969 to October 1970, from August 1975 to January 1977 and finally from June 1980 to present. He served as the bishop of the Lake Jackson Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from January 1981 to October 1986.
Pat and Sandy raised all five surviving children to earn their Eagle Scout awards. Over the years, Pat received various recognitions for his service to the Boy Scouts of America, including the Quintana District’s Chairman’s Award and the Bay Area Council’s Distinguished Commissioner Award. The family also received the Quintana District’s Family of the Year Award.
Pat’s favorite hobbies included genealogy, racquetball and archeology. He also authored multiple books related to the Book of Mormon and loved speaking on that topic.
More than anything, he loved God, his wife and his family. He never wavered in his commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to share his testimony of Christ with his family, his friends and anyone he met – sometimes through his words but more often by his actions. He had no doubt that life doesn’t end at death; it just changes location.
Pat was preceded in death by his parents, Stanley and Julia Simiskey, and a son, Aaron Simiskey.
Pat is survived by his bride, Saundra; five of his children, Stanley, James (Shelley), Matthew (Crista), Benjamin and David; his two sisters, Rose Mary Clegg (Roger) and Julie Simiskey, and his brother, Jared Simiskey. He is also survived by all 16 of his grandchildren, Zachary Funkhouser (Christopher), Sarah Simiskey, Jonathan Simiskey (Deseree), Colin Simiskey (Juritzy), Helena Pineiro (Daniel), Stanley Simiskey, Emily Simiskey, James Simiskey II (Sophia), Aaron Simiskey, Daniel Simiskey, Olivia Simiskey, Samantha Simiskey, Sjon Simiskey, Jacob Simiskey, Noah Simiskey and Samuel Simiskey; and all four great-grandchildren, Rosalina Pineiro, Ace Flores, Levi Simiskey and Sadie Simiskey. He was looking forward to welcoming his fifth great-grandchild this September.
Visitation will be held at Restwood Funeral Home in Clute, on Friday, March 22, 2019, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 502 Southern Oaks Dr in Lake Jackson.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you call a family member or friend you haven’t talked to in a while and tell them you love them.
