- Date Of Birth: March 17, 1931
- Date Of Death: September 8, 2021
- State: Texas
Patricia Wilson Roeder, 90, of Temple, passed away Wednesday, September 8, 2021, in a local nursing center.
Pat was born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1931, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was the fifth child born to Frank and Annie Wilson.
When Pat was eight years old, World War II began in Europe. She and her sister were evacuated to a small community out in the country. Large cities were being bombed, and the general belief was that children would be safer in smaller communities. They were issued child-sized gas masks, said goodbye to their parents at the train station, and headed out to live with complete strangers for two years. They saw their mother twice during that time. But Pat never spoke of it with sadness. To her it was just a grand adventure.
When she finished school, Pat trained in cosmetology and skin care. She also worked as a professional model, and caught the eye and attention of her handsome neighbor, Tom Connery, known later to the rest of the world as Sean Connery. She worked for the cosmetics company Cyclax of London in Edinburgh, then transferred with the company to their London office where she stayed for a few years.
Pat immigrated to America on her 25th birthday. She lived in Long Beach, California, where she met and married Jim Roeder, on November 9, 1956. Soon after they were married, they moved to El Paso Texas. They lived in El Paso for ten years, and had their four children there.
In 1966, Jim was offered a transfer to Temple, Texas, to open a new USO. They had some concerns about living in small town Texas, but it was a good job offer, so they decided they would go to Temple for two years, then apply to transfer somewhere else. They found that they loved the people of Temple and remained there for the rest of their lives.
When all four children were in school, Pat went to work for Temple ISD as a Teacher’s Aide. She worked two years at the Junior High level, then found her true life’s calling working with low-socioeconomic elementary aged children. She was part of a team of amazing educators at Reagan, Bethune, and Meridith Elementary Schools, who began and grew the Magnet School program in east Temple. Her colleagues became her life-long friends, and she was always so proud of what they accomplished together.
When Pat retired in 1992, she enjoyed traveling, singing, and spending time with her grandchildren. But she mostly enjoyed volunteering as a Yellowbird with the Scott and White Auxiliary. The old ICU waiting room on the third floor was her domain. She brought in coffee pots, books, and toys. She went out of her way to do whatever was necessary to comfort family members of patients during their hardest days.
Pat loved her family, her friends, and her church. She loved her Scottish heritage and her St. Patrick’s Day birthday. She loved music, theatre, a cup of tea, traveling, any social event, the daily crossword puzzle, random acts of kindness, and finding a bargain.
Pat was preceded in death by her parents, all of her siblings, her husband, a granddaughter, and a great-grandson.
Left to cherish her memory are her children, Mike Roeder and his wife Mindy, of Austin; Steve Roeder and his wife Beverley, of Temple, Laura deWet of Flower Mound; and Sue Groveunder and her husband Mark of Temple. Her grandchildren, Chelsea Stern and her husband Chris; Whitney Platina and her husband Gino; Clayton deWet and his fiancée Alex; Seth Groveunder, Camryn deWet, Sarah Groveunder, James Roeder, Emily Roeder, Katie Roeder, and Allie Roeder. And her beloved great-grandchildren, Joseph, Chloe, Camden, and Charlotte.
