Patricia Lou Sayre

Patricia (Pat) Lou Sayre was born in Oak Park, Illinois on August 7, 1937, the eldest child of George and Lucille Thompson.

In her early life Patty Lou, as she was affectionately called, moved with her family several times as her father pastored various churches around the country. Her early faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ would remain strong until the end of her life.

After high school, she attended San Diego State University and later graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a B.A. in Communications. She worked for IBM for many years, where she initially worked as a part-time secretary. This was the time in IBM history when IBM stood for “I’ve Been Moved” which proved to be true for Pat.

After receiving her degree in Communications, she moved from the LA area, where her three daughters were born, to San Francisco then to Boca Raton and on to Atlanta. While in Atlanta, she obtained her MBA from Georgia State University and eventually moved to IBM headquarters in Armonk, NY to continue her work with the internal communications team. She left IBM in the late 1980s to become a consultant for the company and spent time running training programs in Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. She also was a contractor during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

She loved to travel and was able to include Europe, Asia, and New Zealand in her travels. She also loved music of all kinds and treasured her baby grand piano that she would often play at family gatherings and holidays. She contributed to the music programs in several of the churches she attended throughout her life playing the organ and piano and even directing the choir when she lived in New York.

In the early 2000s she retired and moved to Asheville, NC where she became active with the symphony guild for a time. In addition to music, she loved the beach. As often as she was able, she would vacation there. It was always her first choice.

While living in Asheville she met and married Larry Sayre with whom she spent the remaining 16 years of her life. They eventually moved to Greenville, SC where she became active in Bible Study Fellowship and served as a group leader for several years. Her BSF family was very dear to her, and she was sad to have to give it up in the last year of her life due to health issues.

Most important to Pat was always her family. She attended as many special life events in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives as she was able – weddings, graduations, birthdays, etc. The one thing she always wished for was more time with family.

She is survived by her husband, Dr. Larry Sayre, her three daughters, Carla (Rob) Comey, Carin (Todd) Dixon, and Carol Cole, three stepchildren, Michelle Hedrick, Michael (Liza) Sayre, and Marlo (Brian) Harding; with seven grandchildren, five step-grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Pat was preceded in death by her parents, George and Lucille Thompson, her dear sister, Suzanne Kneebone, and her son-in-law, James Cole.

Visitation will be held Friday, February 23, 2024, from 12:30-1:15 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Northwest. The memorial service will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Northwest Chapel. Interment will be at Mountain View Memorial Park, 7 Duncan Rd., Travelers Rest, SC.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Sans Souci Church, P.O. Box 3766, Greenville, SC 29608 or at www.sansoucichurch.org/Give.

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