Patricia Prevost, the spouse of Reverend Dr. Stephan Papa, died 11 March 2021 in Colorado, at age 69. Patty was born 26 March 1951 in Freeport, New York to Arthur and Katherine Prevost, and attended school in Wantagh, NY, where she established friendships that she would sustain throughout her life. After high school, Patty attended Keene State College in New Hampshire, then graduated cum laude from The State University of New York in Geneseo in 1973. She had become involved with the student radio station and earned her degree in speech communications.
With her degree in hand, she spent time trying out work experiences, taking employment in a variety of positions in Manhattan, Maryland, and Florida. She had attended Unitarian Universalist churches since grade school – a consequence of her parents coming from different religious backgrounds – and it was at the Unitarian Church in Fort Lauderdale that she and Stephan net in 1980. They married in 1982, and moved to Denver, Colorado later that year.
In Denver, Patty worked for a wine importer, then for a classical radio station, then for Colorado Public Radio, where she eventually became Vice-President of Development and Marketing. In 2001 they moved to Devon, Pennsylvania, where she worked for the Free Library of Philadelphia, and then as Director of Development and Communication for WRTI public radio. Returning to Denver in 2010, Patty worked again for CPR, for Rocky Mountain PBS, and retired in 2017 from her position as Director of Leadership Giving at KUNC.
Patty loved musicals, walking, talking, travel, Pilates and yoga, and she had an astounding capacity to engage with people. She was an excellent listener and unusually adept at remembering details of others’ lives. She was charming and witty and caring, and her social skills empowered her success as a fundraiser. Many people testified to the joy they had in being with her for a variety of experiences.
In addition to Stephan, Patty is survived their daughter, Alexandra Prevost Papa, her husband Tyler Childers, and their son, Parker Chapin Childers, and also by her mother, her brother, Roger, her cousin, Katherine Haynes and family.