Patsy Ann Parkey, 72, of Bay City gained her independence from this fallen world and went home to be with the Lord and her two sons, Joey and Bill, on Independence Day, July 4, 2025.

Patsy was born in Navasota, Texas and raised by her father (Sonny Roliard) and her step mother (Minnie Roliard).   She graduated from Navasota High School in 1971 and went to live in Houston with her cousin Butch Roliard and his family.  She worked at Texas Instruments on the southwest freeway.

In 1971 she met the love of her life, Gary, in Bryan, Texas where Gary was a student at Texas A&M.  If it was not love at first sight, it was pretty close and Patsy and Gary got married on May 13, 1972.  With her support, Gary graduated in May of 1974 and they moved to north Alabama where Gary worked for TVA at the Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant.

Their oldest son, BIll, was born in Alabama in the fall of 1974.  Patsy was not a Bear Bryant fan and couldn't wait to get back to Texas, which they did in the fall of 1977 when Gary went to work at the South Texas Project in Bay City.  Their second son, Joey, was born in the fall of 1977 in Clear Lake.  Patsy was the best mom ever and went about joyfully raising her two sons in Bay City.  She was an officer in the STP Wives Club and later an officer in the Bay City Christian Women's Club.  She was a proud member of the Matagorda County Aggie Mom's.  She volunteered early on at the Women's Crisis Center in Bay City and a few years later she was a hospice volunteer.  She developed many wonderful friendships with the ladies she worshipped with at First Baptist Church in Bay City, where she helped teach kindergarten Sunday School and sang in the choir.

She was crafty and over the years did ceramics, sewing, quilting, and basket weaving. She was a foodie and an amazing cook and loved traveling with her friends and family to the hottest new restaurants in Houston.  She was an avid Bible Study student and treasured the relationships she was able to develop with her sisters in Christ at FBC Bay City over the years.

Both her sons graduated from Bay City High School and attended Texas A&M.  She was heartbroken in December of 1998 when her son, Joey passed away unexpectedly while a student at A&M.  After participating in grief counseling for a few years, she helped host several sessions of a Grief Share program for other grieving families at FBC in Bay City.

She was unwavering in her support of Gary during the many long hours he worked at STP over the years.  After Gary retired in 2006 they were able to travel to Tanzania, Israel, Costa Rica, and many wonderful places in the US (Yosemite was a favorite).

In 2013 Bill fell in love with Tammi Hanna and so did Patsy and Gary.  Their marriage in March of 2015 was one of the highlights of her life.  Gary went back to work as a consultant in 2007 and traveled around the US.  Patsy went with him on many of these trips and enjoyed seeing our beautiful country.  Every holiday or special occasion was spent with Bill and Tammi and it was a wonderful time.

In late 2022 tragedy struck again when Bill passed away unexpectedly.  Patsy never really fully recovered from that loss and experienced a general decline in health over the next couple of years.

She had two acute respiratory failure events in early 2025 which ultimately led to her passing on July 4, 2025 with Gary and Tammi by her side.  We know without a doubt that she is happy now, breathing easy, and praising God with her two sons by her side and a host of others.

We have so many friends to thank, most of whom we met through STP or through FBC Bay City.  Their support for us during our time of need has been unwavering.

A memorial service for Patsy will be held at First Baptist Church of Bay City on July 19 at 10:00 am with our dear friend Dr. Mike Zimmerman officiating.  Visitation will begin at 9:00 AM.

We have a renewed respect and appreciation for the medical community and would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at Matagorda General, Sugar Land Methodist, and St. Luke's in Sugar Land for their steadfast care and support over the last few months.

If you would like to memorialize Patsy, please make a donation to your local church or other charitable organization in memory of her.