Dr. Patricia Ann Murphy Koehler

Dr. Patricia Ann Murphy Koehler, 87, of Greensboro, N.C., passed away peacefully May 11 at Pennybyrn at Maryfield in High Point, N.C.

She was born Nov. 11, 1928, in Rochester, Pa., the daughter of James G. Murphy Sr. and Barbara Kline Murphy. She was the second of four children, Jimmy, Pat, Barbara and Peggy. James and Barbara Murphy raised their family at 2 Virginia Terrace in West View, Pa.

Pat graduated from St. Benedict's Academy in Pittsburgh in 1946 and married L. Robert Koehler on July 7, 1951. They raised four children, Tim, Scott, Mark and Mary Pat while living in Greensburg, Pa., Newark, Ohio, and Butler. After retirement she moved to Greensboro, N.C., to be with her children.

Pat attended Slippery Rock State College, now Slippery Rock University, for her undergraduate degree in education and went on to receive a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She was awarded a doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976.

Amazingly enough, she completed her college education and earned a master's and a doctoral degree while raising four children. She was persistent, determined and committed to both her family and her education.

Over the years, she designed board games to help children with specials needs and wrote many articles on special education — she was considered an authority on the subject and an advocate for children with special needs.

She retired as professor emerita from teaching in the Special Education Department of Slippery Rock University in 1995.

Pat was known as a special friend and mentor to the aspiring teacher and a defender and supporter of children and their rights to an appropriate education.

One of her many passions was button collecting. She amassed a collection that included many buttons of historical significance. As a member of the Keystone Button Club in Pennsylvania, and then a member of the North Carolina State Button Society and editor of their society bulletin, she regularly contributed articles on antique buttons and the fascinating stories behind them. Her research was precise and exhaustive; her attention to detail was second to none. Pat was a great detective.

In 2009, Pat co-authored the book “Oakdale Cotton Mills” with Jamestown historian Mary Browning. Pat and Mary originated the Oakdale Mills Project, sponsored by the Historic Jamestown Society. The project led to the creation of a documentary by Mary Dalton entitled “Oakdale Cotton Mills — Close-Knit Neighbors.”

Other hobbies and interests included, watching tennis, Steelers football and Pirates baseball and writing. She was in the process of writing a young adult novel before she suffered a stroke in 2014.

Her son, Mark founded MUCH, a children's mission in Ukraine. Pat managed the finances and bookkeeping for the mission, applied for nonprofit status, solicited board members and was the secretary. She was instrumental in the success of the mission and the services it provides to the children of Ukraine.

Pat's sister, Barbara Baum preceded her in death in 2013.

She is survived by her brother, James G. Murphy Jr. of Timonium, Md.; her sister, Margaret Nist of N. Ft. Myers, Fla.; four children, Tim Koehler of Seven Lakes, N.C., Scott Koehler of Oak Ridge, N.C., Mary Pat Whaley of Morrisville, N.C., and Mark Koehler of Mykolaiv, Ukraine; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Pat was an active member of St. Paul The Apostle Church in Greensboro.

KOEHLER — A celebration of life for Patricia Ann Murphy Koehler, who died Wednesday, May 11, 2016, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Hanes-Lineberry Sedgefield Chapel in Greensboro, N.C.The family will receive friends during a reception following the service at the funeral home.In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Mission Ukraine Children's Hope (MUCH) PO Box 689 Seven Lakes, NC 27376The family would like to give special thanks to the staff at Pennybyrn at Maryfield for the loving care given to their mother for the past twenty-two months.Online condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfuneralhomes.com.