Patricia Nan King Godfrey

Pat came to the city in the early ‘50s with her late husband E. Kimball Godfrey and two children to open the Seadrift Union Carbide plant. Pat was born August 13, 1922 to Wilson and Gertrude King in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

She graduated from West Virginia University as a Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. While at the university, she was a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority and played cello in the WVU Orchestra.

Pat possessed a strong sense of duty and interrupted her college studies during World War II to help the war effort. She went to Washington, D.C. and worked in the Office of Scientific Research and Development, one of several forerunners to today’s Central Intelligence Agency.

After she returned to college, she met her late husband Kim, a handsome young chemistry major who had served in the Army Air Corps as a B-29 tail gunner. Pat and Kim wed on September 4, 1948. She taught government and economics at Victoria High School from 1965 to 1985. She was innovative and creative in the classroom, often teaching her students economics via the board game Monopoly. However, she routinely broke several hearts when she would call “time out” to introduce the concept of taxes and fees for government services.

She served on the vestry at St. Francis Episcopal Church and in other capacities, volunteered at Citizens Medical Center, and for the Friends of the Library. She stayed active through her retirement years and was often hard to “catch” at home as she seemed always busy volunteering for the library or the hospital, while also participating in her bridge, garden, and book clubs. She was an avid reader who solved the Sunday crossword puzzle. In ink. While heavily involved with fine arts activities in the early ‘70s, she recruited a young tenor to appear with the Victoria Symphony. Luciano Pavarotti was happy to receive a $10,000 fee -- large for the time, especially for a city the size of Victoria -- and he honored his contract a few years later when he could easily command $100,000 per appearance.

She was always engaged in life, was an accomplished cook and gracious hostess, and was always “up” on national and international affairs.

She is survived by sons, Dr. David Kimball Godfrey of Bradford, PA, and Mark Wilson Godfrey of Dallas, daughter, Jan Elizabeth Godfrey McCorstin of Garland, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Kim, beloved son John Lawrence, and brother David King.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Francis Episcopal Church, Smile Train, or Dorothy O’Connor Pet Adoption Center.

Family visitation will be Friday, June 3, 5:30-7:30 PM at Rosewood Funeral Chapel. A memorial service will be held Saturday, June 4 at 10:30 AM at St. Francis Episcopal Church.

Words of comfort may be shared at www.rosewoodfuneralchapel.com.