Patrick William Olfers arrived as an early Christmas present:  he was born December 3rd, 1941, in Fredericksburg, Texas, the beloved son of Werner and Estella Olfers, followed three years later by his sister, Janet Ruth Olfers.

He grew up in San Antonio, Texas, as part of an extended Texas-German family dating back to the early 1800s.  He excelled at baseball from an early age but had to skip two years of organized ball to attend Saturday Confirmation classes.  He was confirmed at St. John Lutheran Church in San Antonio on Palm Sunday in 1956.

Notably, he was the first member of his family to graduate from college.  He parlayed an outstanding athletic career at San Antonio's Northside high school (now SA Marshall) into a baseball scholarship at Trinity University where his single season batting average of .432 stood for 35 years and is still in the Top 10 all-time at the school.  He met the love of his life, Sarah Herlin during the spring of his junior year and graduated in 1963, with a B.S in Mathematics.  Two days after completion of Officer Training School at Fort Bliss, they were married in Palacios, Texas, on Easter Sunday, 1964.

Two weeks after the wedding, Pat reported for overseas duty, leaving Sarah behind to finish her teaching contract.  The couple reunited in June and were stationed for the next two years in Friedberg, West Germany.  In addition to leading a Hawk missile battery, Pat spent his off-duty time exploring Europe with Sarah.  They camped in Rome, attended the Paris opera, and played in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, building an adventurous foundation for a storybook romance that spanned 62 years.

After his discharge from the military in 1965 as a 1st Lieutenant, Pat started his civilian career in the Clear Lake area of Houston, working in the space industry at NASA.  His career as a software engineer started with TRW, and then continued for many years at IBM, both NASA contractors.  During his career, he worked on various projects including the Apollo program, Sky Lab, and the Space Shuttle.  One of his favorite recollections from those years was receiving the distress call for Apollo 13 at his NASA bowling league, which quickly emptied the bowling alley.

In late 1966, Pat and Sarah started a family, welcoming the first of their three sons, Wesley, followed by Michael in 1968, and Jared in 1971.  The boys' formative years in El Lago, Texas, were filled with an abundance of sports, hunting, and fishing, along with House of Prayer Lutheran Church youth activities.  After work, Pat looked forward to coaching the boys in baseball, basketball and golf.  He was gifted in conveying sporting knowledge to young minds in a positive way.  Though a passionate golfer, Pat happily grabbed a racquet to learn tennis when Sarah fell in love with the sport.  Family activities included ski trips, camping, and Jeeping with friends in the mountains.  Pat's happy place was Mill Creek Campground, outside of Lake City, Colorado.  Pat also had a green thumb- growing veggies and at one-point peaches at his beloved orchard in Kerrville.

Upon retirement, when not traveling with Sarah back and forth to Dallas, Palacios, Kerrville, and various other parts of the world, Pat golfed, managed his ranch interests, and served on the FCC board.

His grandchildren were very dear to his heart.  From their first day, he was hands on, helping, feeding, playing and traveling regularly to attend their many sporting events, dance recitals, concerts, plays, award ceremonies and graduations.  He cherished the Family Beach Week each year, catching up with his sons, daughters and Grands.

Pat was known for his lifelong friendships and unconditional love, in addition to his hearty handshake, hugs, and welcome kisses.

He is survived by his wife Sarah; sons Wesley, his wife Cathy, children, Lara, Patrick and Grace; Michael, his wife Julie, children, Gage and Reese; and Jared, his wife Kristan, children, Turner, Haden and Ella.  He was predeceased by his parents, his sister and brother-in-law, Jack Schlameus; as well as his in-laws Bob and Jean Herlin, his sister-in-law Susan Herlin, and brother-in-law Bruce Herlin.

Pat passed away at home, surrounded by his family on August 15, 2024, due to complications from a recent stroke.  Pat was a cradle-to-grave Lutheran, living his faith quietly and with love that was patient and kind, never-failing and will never end.

A celebration of his life will be held at 10:30 a.m. on September 7 at Messiah Lutheran Church, 11522 Telge Rd., Cypress, TX 77429. All attendees are invited to join the family at a luncheon in the Fellowship Hall after the service.

Condolences may be offered at https://www.kleinfh.com/obituary/patrick-olfers .

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Pat's name to Upbring, which was one of his favorite charitable organizations: https://upbring.org .