Evelyn "Patti" McFee, 85, met the Lord she served for over fifty years face to face on August 29. Earlier that day, she took tremendous pleasure in celebrating her son's and daughter's birthdays among family.

Patti was born on February 20, 1935 in St Joseph's Hospital, Houston to Merrill and Grace Becker. She grew up in south Houston as the youngest of four children. She described her childhood self as a tomboy, who ditched her school dresses as quickly as possible to put on a flannel shirt and blue jeans each day. She earned A's in every school subject and got involved in Girls Scouts. At age 13, she received a shetland sheepdog as a gift. Her neighbor encouraged her to join a dog training club and enter competitions.

During her high school years at Stephen F Austin High School, she continued to excel in school but classical piano became one of her passions. She practiced diligently to learn difficult pieces by Beethoven and Debussy. Patti intensified her involvement in dog training competitions. As a member of the South Texas Obedience Club, she traveled around Texas competing in obedience trials and putting on entertaining demonstrations. Through this activity, she developed lifelong traits of perseverance, constancy and patience, as those traits were required to train two dogs to perform as one synchronized pair. Over the next 20 years, she won first place in a multitude of dog shows and accumulated over 170 trophies. During the 1980's, she competed in field trials with one of her golden retrievers. It is likely that no competitor in the state has been as victorious in obedience competitions as Patti.

In 1953, Patti studied Piano Performance at the University of Houston while supporting herself as an employee of the National Bank of Commerce on Main Street. She caught the eye of James L McFee, a bank manager. They struck up a friendship that turned into romance. They were married on June 30, 1956 at Heights First Baptist Church. They loved, supported and cared for each other for 64 years, through all the stages of life. They built two houses, ran a family business, served side by side in ministry and traveled together throughout North America and Europe. They were blessed early in their marriage with two children, Kerry and Kellye, and have sacrificially supported their children and grandchildren in word and deed the entirety of their lives.

Vocationally, Patti operated Crown Boarding Kennel with James from 1960 until 1966. In 1967, her next door neighbor encouraged her to apply at Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD). She began as a Library Assistant and was continuously promoted until she was named CFISD Director of Records and Certification. She retired from her duties in 1994. It was a joyous day in 2007 when CFISD opened Patti Becker McFee Elementary School. Coworkers from three decades of education service attended the dedication event to congratulate her. In 2014, Patti was honored as one of the 75 Most Influential People in the First 75 Years of CFISD history.

Patti's life changed in a significant way in 1961. Listening to the teachings of pastors at Heights First Baptist and Clay Road Baptist churches inspired her to accept God's superlative offer of grace and to choose Jesus as the center of her life. She was baptized that year and began to serve her Lord faithfully. She energetically taught Bible classes to children and teenagers, assisted church members in the church library, delivered meals to seniors through Meals on Wheels, sang in the church choir, and organized hundreds of retreats, socials and excursions for her Bible classes. Patti always had abundant energy for assisting and encouraging others. She dearly loved the Champion Forest Baptist Church staff and friends and particularly enjoyed using her talent for decorating in the 55+ department.

Patti is survived by her beloved husband, James L McFee; her son, Kerry B McFee; her daughter, Kellye McFee Williams; her son-in-law, Fred L Williams, Jr; grandchildren, Kyle R McFee, Brett D McFee, Preston W Williams and wife Taylor, Courtney G Williams; sister, Marilyn Becker Bravenec and numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. The celebration of life for Patti will be held in the chapel at Champions Forest Baptist Church, Houston, Texas on Saturday, September 5 at 1:00 pm. The church address is 15555 Stuebner Airline Rd, Houston, TX, 77069 Family members will remain after the service to greet attendees. Scott Riling will conduct a graveside service on Monday, September 7 at the Houston National Cemetery