Patricia C. Fowler

Patricia Corbett “Pat” Fowler, 86, beloved mother, aunt, friend, and teacher died peacefully in her Austin home on Tuesday, October 26, 2021. Preceded in death by husband, Bill, son, David, and daughter, Mary Harp; she is survived by son, John; daughter, Patricia & husband, John Kneten; daughter-in-law Marilou; grandchild William Harp; numerous nieces, nephews, and dear friends.

Known as “Patsy” by her family and in her youth, she was born in in 1935 in Louisville, KY to Maude and Lloyd Corbett, the youngest of 5 children. Despite the physical distance between them, she and her siblings remained extremely close throughout their lives and she missed them dearly these last few years.

Patsy spent majority of her life in Houston, graduating in 1953 from St. Agnes Academy, where she made many happy memories and lifelong friendships.

She met future husband, Bill, on a double date shortly after graduation and married the following year. They moved to Austin where Patsy supported Bill while he completed his engineering degree. Upon his graduation, they made their home in Pittsburg for short time and lived in Ft. Worth before returning to Houston in 1964 and joining the newly-formed St. Francis de Sales Catholic parish in southwest Houston.

Pat and Bill threw themselves into their new church, beginning with volunteering with the young singles group. Over the years they joined many church organizations and participated in countless events, including chairing the Annual Bazzar in the mid 70’s. Pat was a member of the Catholic Daughters, served on the Pastoral Council and was proud to be a member of the St. Francis de Sales community for 55 years.

She began her career in Religious Education in the late 1950's in Ft. Worth when she volunteered to teach CCE classes. In 1971, Pat joined the staff of St. Francis de Sales day school where she taught for 40 years. For several of those years she concurrently taught Speech and loved attending Speech Tournaments with “her kids.” She worked as a parish secretary for Msgr. Jack Dinkins who became a dear friend and confidant. She also worked alongside Bill at Fowler Engineering for a handful of years. But it was her role as a teacher at St. Francis that defined her adult life. Eventually over two thousand children would go through her classroom and, because she spent the majority of her career at St. Francis, she often taught multiple children of a single family and, on several occasions, the children of former students. Many students stayed in touch with "Mrs. Fowler" years after they graduated which really touched her.

From the time they joined the parish, Pat and Bill counted numerous priests and deacons from St. Francis among their close friends. They traveled to Italy with the late Bishop Rizzotto and to Colorado annually with Msgr. Dinkins. They made many deep & lasting friendships with others from the St. Francis community - in Pat's case both from the church and the school. She continued to lunch with the retired teachers of SFDS until her move to Austin in 2019, and her closest friends were fellow teachers.

An entertainer by nature both in her personality and her love of hosting gatherings large and small, Pat loved cooking and finding excuses to have people over. For 50 years, friends, neighbors and relatives made their way to the Fowler household where Pat hosted tea parties, bridge games, luncheons, after school happy hours, countless holidays and other celebratory dinners. Her annual St. Patrick’s Day parties were legendary.

Known for her boisterous nature, Pat was funny, fun-loving and full of life. She collected clowns and loved clowning around. She almost always wore a smile along with her favorite color, red. All her life she was blessed with dear friends and loved by many.

Although Parkinson’s disease significantly altered her life, affecting her mobility and, in the final years, her short-term memory, it did not take away her ability to make people laugh, which she retained until the very end. Despite all her challenges, Pat’s playful personality and sense of humor was often observed and appreciated by those around her, especially by her amazing caregivers.

There are no words to express the gratitude we have for those individuals who traveled this long journey with us and who so lovingly cared for Pat. Our profound thanks you - Carmen de Jesus, Mai Le, Annie Fairchild, Brian King, Matt Holmes, Raquel Buelto, Alison Auwerda, Laura Evans, Phi Pham, and Ali de la Garza. Your contribution to the quality of Pat’s life these last years cannot be overstated.

A visitation will be held Tuesday, Nov 16th at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 8200 Roos Rd., with a Rosary at 6:30pm, followed by a prayer service and eulogies. Friends and family are invited to share a fond memory or short story to share at the service or may do so at the link below. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1:00pm on Wednesday at St. Francis, presided by Reverend Wayne W. Wilkerson, followed by interment at Forest Park Westheimer and reception at St. Francis de Sales Family Life Center.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation of any size to the Pat Fowler Memorial Fund benefiting the school she loved so very much, St. Francis de Sales, 8100 Roos Rd., Houston, TX 77036. www.sfdsschool.org/pat-fowler-memorial-fund

For those wishing to send a message of condolence to the family, share a fond memory or photo, please click the link below, entitled, "Add a Memory."