Patsy Bevins Obituary

Patsy (Pat) Rhea Holbrook Bevins

July 18, 2025

WISE, VA - Patsy (Pat) Rhea Holbrook Bevins passed away Friday, July 18, 2025, at Heritage Hall in Wise, VA.

Pat was a born-again Christian; she was always happy to witness to her faith. Known as a prayer warrior, Pat was on call 24 hours a day to pray for any request. And she always followed up. Once you landed on Pat's prayer list, you never got off. Her greatest desire was that everyone come to know God the way she knew Him. She would choose to be remembered through acts of kindness done for others.

Pat was a Mother. She raised two children, of whom she was inordinately and unabashedly proud. With a twinkle in her eye, she would say, "But wait til you hear about my babies!" And the feeling was reciprocated by her children, who were often heard to say, "We've had the best mother in the world."

And she was a sister to her four sisters. The Holbrook sisters were raised in a modest home where material things were few and far between, but where faith compensated and love prevailed.

Pat was a long-time member of First Church of God in Wise, where she was a Sunday School teacher and women's Bible study leader, senior youth counselor, member of the Women's Christian Group, sang alto in the church choir and was an assistant treasurer and senior youth counselor.

Pat graduated from UVA-Wise in l994 with a BA in Psychology. She was appointed Liaison between UVA Wise and the Town of Wise by then-Chancellor Stephen Kaplan. She was a member of the Cavs for a Cure Relay for Life team and a member of the Women's Prayer Group at the Wesleyan Foundation. She was involved in the Football player adoptee program. Pat was a member of the Black History Month Committee and the ODK Honor Society.

After graduation from UVA-Wise, Pat took a job in the Athletic Department, where she worked for many years. She held a deep and abiding love for UVA-Wise and remained an employee for the remainder of her work life.

Pat's favorite pastime was raising funds for fuel for the elderly for MEOC (Mountain Empire Older Citizens). With her sister Jo, she never missed an MEOC fundraising walk. Her method of fundraising was to walk up to friends and associates and hold out her hand. They knew it was MEOC fundraising time and pulled out their wallets. This method worked, raising thousands of dollars over many years.

Because of her unassuming and non-judgmental nature, Pat's fierce and staunch feminism often escaped notice. She was a champion of women's rights and was extremely vocal in defense of abused women.

Pat was blessed with the ability to love life. Her great loves were prayer, her children and theirs, food, and travel. She traveled extensively with her sisters, leaving charmed New Yorkers, French, Greeks, Italians, English, Germans, Swedes, Dutch, Belizeans, Mexicans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, Costa Ricans and Panamanians in her wake. She loved coffee, cats, walking and reading, Andy Griffith and The Golden Girls. Quiet, thoughtful and introspective, she was a lover of words and grammar who rarely lost a Scrabble game. And she loved to laugh. People will always remember her one liners, which were often seasoned with a rapier-sharp wit.

The fourth of five sisters, Patty -- as she became known in her later years -- was the lighthearted one. Though her life was not always a bowl of cherries, she had a joie de vivre that never deserted her. She was a good and loyal friend, and while she was reluctant to give advice, people somehow felt they had been counseled in a positive way when they left her.

Pat is preceded in death by her mother, Gladys Holbrook; one sister, Willie Jean Owens, a nephew, Roger Dotson, two brothers- in-law, Claude (Bill) Lawson and Jimmy C. Stewart.

She is survived by her son Todd Bevins {Lisa}, daughter April Bevins-Clifton {Steve} of Wise and Roanoke, three granddaughters, Alyssa Rhea Guinn {A. J.} of Knoxville, TN, Olivia Nicole Bevins of Kingsport and Nashville, TN, and Kristen Denae Brickey {Cody} of Norton; three sisters, Navada Lawson and Jo Stewart of Wise, and Frankie Holbrook of New York City. Pat is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Donations in Pat's memory can be made to: Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Box 888, Big Stone Gap, VA 24219; First Church of God, Wise, VA 24293, or the Pat Bevins Scholarship Fund, University of Virginia's College at Wise, One College Avenue, Wise, VA 24293

Visitation will be held at First Church of God in Wise, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, from 5:00 to 7:00. Burial will be in the Holbrook family plot at Greenwood Acres Cemetery in Coeburn, VA, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.

Online condolences may be sent at www.estesfuneralhome.com.

Estes Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Pat Bevins.