Patricia Cecile Neves

Pat was born in Fontainebleau, France, in 1948. Her father, Cecil Flowers, was an American soldier. Her mother, Fernande Cuny, was a Parisian artist who had worked for the French government during the war. Pat grew up as their only child, surrounded by oil paint, good food, and two cultures at once. French was her first language, thanks to her very French mother. The family came to the United States when she was still a baby and settled in Alabama, but Pat never let go of her French side. She spoke fluent French and Spanish, later picked up Portuguese from her husband Daniel, and was at home in just about any culture she walked into.

She studied French and Spanish at the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, and later earned a Master's in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Houston.

Pat spent over 30 years teaching bilingual and ESL elementary students in Houston, most of those years at Bonham Elementary in HISD. She was the teacher who showed up early and stayed late. She had a patience with children that never seemed to run out. Earlier in her career, she taught French in Mexico City, worked in health education, and ran a preschool with Daniel in Houston. After retiring in 2014, she kept going — tutoring, working as a dyslexia practitioner and reading teacher.

Pat's mother was a painter, and Pat was too. After retirement she picked it back up, especially watercolors and digital art. She loved plants, flowers, gardens, cooking, animals, and travel. Her home with Daniel was a mix of her mother's paintings, Portuguese furnishings, and folk art from everywhere they'd been. There was always a cat or a dog around, often both.

Pat is survived by her husband, Daniel Neves, and her son, Luiz Neves. She was preceded in death by her parents, Cecil Leroy Flowers and Fernande Augustine Cuny.