Patricia High, teacher, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, 72, died on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, at her home in Fort Worth.
Services in celebration of Pat’s life will be at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 5001 Crestline Road, Fort Worth, TX 76107. The Rt. Rev. Andrew Doyle, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, will officiate and the Rev. Patrick Miller, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Houston, will preach. A service of interment will be at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 515 Columbus Avenue, Waco, TX 76701. The Rt. Rev. Claude Payne, retired bishop of the diocese of Texas, will officiate and the Rev. Dr. Chuck Treadwell, rector of St. Paul’s, will preach.
There will be a reception immediately after the service at River Crest Country Club, 1501 Western Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76107.
Pat was born in Seminole, Oklahoma. Her parents were Max and Josephine Moseley. She married Rayford B. High, Jr. on August 29, 1964. He is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, and the retired bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Until her illness prevented it in recent months, Pat was always by his side at episcopal visitations to congregations. She was a full partner in his ministry, both as priest and bishop.
They met in Houston when both were in college. Pat attended the University of Texas. They have been married 50 years and have three children and six grandchildren. Pat taught at St. Mark’s Episcopal School in Houston.
In an interview at the time of his retirement as bishop suffragan, Bishop High said he is so grateful for the strengths Pat brought to their marriage and their ministry. “She’s been able to help me in areas that I’m not as strong in. She has a grasp of numbers and understanding that I really don’t so takes care of the finances. But where she really has helped is, as a parish priest I was always the last person to leave the church on Christmas Eve, she assembled the toys, even a swing set once. … She’s been a great help to bail me out in terms of being a father, too, because I still got credit for some of that.”
Their first child, Allison, was born in San Antonio, where he was at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Shortly after that, they moved to Victoria, where he served as rector at St. Francis Episcopal Church. While in Victoria, they were expecting their second child, and were joyfully surprised by the arrival of twins, a daughter, Leslie, and a son, Rayford B. High, III.
All three children, their spouses and children live in Fort Worth.
Condolences can be emailed to condolences@edotn.org. Cards can be sent to Bishop High at the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, 4301 Meadowbrook Drive, Fort Worth, TX, 76103.
If people wish, memorials can be sent to St. Paul’s Day School, 517 Columbus Ave, Waco, TX 76701; Camp Allen Conference and Retreat Center, 18800 FM 362, Navasota, Texas 77868; Tyler Day Nursery, 2901 W Gentry Pkwy, Tyler, TX 75702; or Thistle Farms, 5122 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, Tennessee 37209.