Patricia Kinney Doyle

Patricia Kinney Doyle, 85, of Lynchburg, died peacefully on October 1, 2022 at Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg, Virginia. She was born April 9, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois to the late Mary Ann Gallagher and Charles Franklin Kinney.

Pat was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of fifty-four years Thomas O. Doyle, and her son Charles P. “Chuckie” Doyle.

She is survived by her four children and nine grandchildren: Thomas O. (Mary) Doyle of Richmond, VA and their children Kellie (Isaac) Hutchison, Casey (David) Rhodes, and Thomas (Lexi) Doyle; Elizabeth A. Doyle of Lynchburg, VA and her children Robert, Charles (Sarah), and William Laverty; Peter K. (Julie) Doyle of Lynchburg and their children Kevin (Caitlin), Sarah, and Margaret Doyle; and Kathleen G. (Mary Jo Callan) Doyle of Providence, RI. She is also survived by six great-grandchildren: Reid and Caleb Hutchison, Anna Rhodes, William Ashby Laverty, and Grace and Callahan Doyle.

The rest of this obituary is unauthorized, but given that Pat herself gave only glancing notice to convention, we have chosen to stretch her rule in her honor.

Pat inspired everyone around her with an uncommonly open and engaged mind, which was the foundation of her passionate pursuits: literature, travel, arts, teaching, and service. Born and raised in the south side of Chicago as the only child of two adoring parents, she developed lifelong friendships and an abiding curiosity. She relished the chance to study and build more lifelong friendships at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana; it was there that the hilarious and handsome Tommy Doyle swept her off her feet. She left the bright lights and big city of Chicago behind when they married in 1958 and landed in Lynchburg, VA where they spent fifty-four loving years together until his death in 2012.

Quick with an infectious laugh, Pat was perhaps best known—and loved!—for speaking her mind, even when the conventions of the day required otherwise. Her penchant for sisterhood enabled her to develop more friendships in Lynchburg. While raising her children, in 1979 she earned a Master of Education at the University of Virginia. Inside the classrooms at EC Glass High School and the University of Lynchburg (then Lynchburg College), she taught literature and writing. An active parishioner at Holy Cross Catholic Church, Pat spent many years on the Social Ministry Committee living out her faith in service to the community.

As important as her career and her service were, Pat’s most enduring legacy is her unbounded devotion to her family’s happiness and wellbeing. She never made a decision without factoring in the needs and fulfillment of her children and grandchildren; each has thrived because of the secure foundation of love and protection she provided.

Pat’s family is grateful beyond measure for the friends who loved her through her joys and her griefs, and to the amazing caretakers at Westminster Canterbury who cared for her in her final years. The family extends a special tribute to Meghan Mays, who used all forms of technology to keep Pat’s connection with us ablaze for the duration of the pandemic.

Through the last years of her life when many of her passions were out of reach, Pat continued to grace us all with what her favorite poet Gerard Manley Hopkins referred to as the “dearest freshness deep down things” which in her case were humor, love and chocolate.

A Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated on Friday, October 7, 2022 at noon at Holy Cross Catholic Church. A reception will immediately follow in the Church Commons. Inurnment will be private.

Following Pat’s wishes, memorial contributions may be made to the Holy Cross Church Social Ministry Committee, the Friends of the Lynchburg Public Library, or Interfaith Outreach Association.