Patricia Golemon's Obituary
Patricia Lynn Golemon, PhD, age 73 years and 8 months, died early in the morning 26 January 2018, at her home in Houston. She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert Bruce Golemon, PhD, and Catherine Hall Blake Golemon, and by her younger sister Bobbie Claire Golemon Fancher. Our dear Pat is survived by her devoted and beloved husband, Peter D Williamson, Esq., of Houston; her brother, Thomas Bruce Golemon, MD, and his family, of Brimfield, Illinois; her daughters, Anna Catherine Garrett and Allison Lynn Garrett Skinner, both of Houston; her son Aaron Blake Spivey Williamson of Houston; her stepdaughters Heather Rose Williamson of Houston; Amber Williamson DeFord of Austin; Asia Raven Smith of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Ginger Ivy Greenberg of Katy. Called “Ghee” or “Miss Pat” by her grandchildren, Pat is additionally survived by: Amanda Catherine Morton; Dylan Michael Horne; Nicholas Rodney Skinner; Christopher James Skinner; Zoe Rose DeFord; Elise Mackenzie DeFord; Aria Rose Williamson-Tonan; Oliver James Rose Williamson-Tonan; Gavin Michael Greenberg; and Cooper Enzo Greenberg. Ghee leaves behind great grandchildren as well: Ava Catherine Morton; Ayanna Vivian Morton; Tristan Michael Morton; Autumn Jade Garza-Samford; Summer Iris Horne; and Dylan James Horne.
Pat was born 28 May 1944 in Nacogdoches, TX, a much-welcome first baby with a sister and brother to follow. Her Blake and Bennett ancestors were among the Old Three Hundred, the first American settlers granted land by Spain, and led to Texas by Stephen F Austin. She was very proud of this important Texas heritage, and mentioned it often. As a teenager, Pat moved with her family to west Texas, and she graduated from Cisco High School in 1962. She attended Cisco Junior College, where her father chaired the music department and led the band. Her mother was also a lifelong educator.
Pat came to Houston in the mid 1960s as a new wife. After her two daughters were born and no longer toddlers, she returned to college. She finished her education at the University of Houston, with a BA summa cum laude, 1974, and an MA in English literature in 1975. After more than 20 years in the business world, where she achieved much, she returned to the University of Houston and completed her PhD in English in 1999.
Her professional career was successful and varied. A major in English gave Pat the skills to operate in a variety of industries; her formidable intelligence ensured that she progressed through positions of increasing responsibility, encompassing medical editing, technical and legal writing, marketing, public relations, and corporate communications. Upon returning to academics as assistant professor of English at University of Houston’s downtown campus, Pat used her impressive background in managing people and projects as she taught students about communications in “the real world.” In 2005, at age 61, Pat was further recognized for her expertise with a Fulbright scholarship and a position teaching American literature at Providence University in Taiwan.
Throughout her life, Pat loved books, reading, talking about books, teaching students about literature and writing. She was a founding member of a very exclusive book club, The Harpies, a small group of women graduate students, who first gathered in 1977. The Harpies have met almost monthly since, with some additions and subtractions. This brilliant, thoughtful, well-read group was an essential part of Pat’s life, and vice versa. The Harpies also grieve her loss deeply; her kind will not pass this way again.
Her family and her very large circle of friends will remember Pat for her beauty, generosity of spirit, humor, strength, competence, and fierce love of her family and friends; for her ability to throw an elegant dinner party; for her problem-solving skills; for her profanity and her spirituality; for her love of classical music, opera, and anything performed by anyone she loved; and for generally being the smartest person in the goddamn room.
