Patricia C. Guy

Patricia Carol Guy, 83, of Lawrence, died at 5:45 AM, Monday, March 19, 2018 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. She was born on April 19th, 1934 in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Carroll and Blanche Pauley. She is survived by her husband, Willard Guy of Lawrence; her three children, John (Rita) Holmes of Stratham, New Hampshire, David (Irene Alarcon) Holmes of Mequon, Wisconsin, and Amy (Jeff) Hargroves of Kansas City, Missouri; three step-children, Pam (Bob) Romanko of Coos Bay, Oregon, Cyndi Guy of Casper, Wyoming, and David (Ingelise) Guy of Truckee, California; four grandchildren, Samara and Annika Holmes, and Jackson and Katie Hargroves; eight step-grandchildren, Ally and Katie Romanko, Eric, Logan and Abrienne Vierkant, and Nielsen, Maren and Andersen Guy; a brother Bruce (Marianne) Pauley; and two nephews, Mark and Glenn Pauley.

Pat lived in Lawrence for the past 13 years, after having lived in Topeka, Kansas for 13 years as a pastor at First Presbyterian Church. She graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa in 1956, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in music. While studying at Grinnell, she met her first husband, Bob Holmes, marrying shortly after graduation. They lived in Illinois, Iowa and later Wisconsin, and had three children during their 24 years together.

After this phase of her life, Pat went in a new direction, first studying art, and then finding her true passion, theology. At the age of 51, she began a rigorous course of study at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, obtaining a Master of Divinity in 1988. She was ordained in 1989 and Pat’s first pastoral assignment was in the hills of the Kettle Moraine, Wisconsin, where she served a year with Margaret Towner, the first ordained female Presbyterian Minister in the United States. She then accepted an Associate Pastor position with the First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, Kansas, where she served for thirteen fulfilling years. In 2003, she met and married Willard (Bill) Guy, enjoying 13 years of love, companionship and laughter.

To honor and pay tribute to her educational opportunities, in 2016, Pat established an endowment at Grinnell College—the Reverend Patricia Pauley 1956 Endowed Scholarship—to further the study of writing by students at Grinnell. In 2017 she established the Reverend Patricia Pauley Scholarship at McCormick Theological Seminary for the advancement of women in the Christian ministry.

Pat was a lifelong lover of travel, music and art. Her intellect, compassion and smile will be sorely missed by all who knew her. A Celebration of Pat’s Life will be held at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, March 27th, at Plymouth Congregational Church, in Lawrence, Kansas, Pat’s beloved church of the past decade. Reverend Peter Luckey will be officiating, with assistance from Reverend Neil Weatherhogg of Topeka and Reverend Eleanor McCormick. A brief reception will follow the service. Pat has chosen to be cremated with her ashes going to her family cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Memorial contributions may be made directly to Plymouth Congregational Church at 925 Vermont St, Lawrence, KS 66044.