Pat LeRoy Pace

RANCO VIEJO, TX. – Pat LeRoy Pace died at his residence in Rancho Viejo, Texas on Wednesday, the 30th of August 2023. He was born in Brownsville, Texas at Mercy Hospital in 1935, son of Zenobia Gilmore Pace and James Wilburn Pace.

Pat attended Brownsville public schools graduating from Brownsville High School in 1953, having excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He was very active in state and national DeMolay activities serving as State Master Counselor.

In 1957, he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In his college days, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and served in many local campus activities, while also having leadership roles in student government organizations.

He married Mary Jo Phillips in 1956 at the First Methodist Church in Brownsville. They celebrated their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary in 2023 with family.

He was the founder and owner of Pace Fish Company, which became the largest importer and producer of fresh finfish from Mexico distributing to businesses nationwide from 1959 to 2003. He was a member of the National Fisheries Institute, serving on multiple national committees and boards throughout the years. He was also one of the original members of the Texas Sea Grant program. He established the political advocacy group to support the causes of commercial fishermen and the industry.                       

Pat continued his community service in public education, serving three years on the Board of the Brownsville Independent School District and as President of the Board for one year. After Pace Fish Company, he devoted his lifetime of missionary service to more than five hundred families in Mexico.

Pat was a long-time member of the First United Methodist Church of Brownsville. He held numerous leadership roles in the Methodist Church at the local, district and conference levels. In the early 70s, he actively participated in the lay witness programs throughout the southern United States and shared his testimony in word and song.

He used his gift of music for the glory of God his entire adult life participating in the church choir for more than seventy years, along with sharing his talent and gift of music with families and friends. His talent graced the stages of the Camille Playhouse, the Brownsville Junior Service League Follies, the Brownsville Lions Club variety shows, and the Valley Chorale. At the time of his death, he was the longest living member of the First United Methodist Church in Brownsville, Texas.

Pat is survived by his wife, Mary Jo Phillips Pace, and his four children, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Cynthia Jean Pace (Robert) Allison, Todd (Megan) and Leona Markley, Coleman (Kaitlyn) Allison; Mary Gay Pace (Dr. Randall Lynn) Wagner, Merinda (Richard), Hannah and Rebecca Goodman, Phillips (Sarah), Pace and Emily Wagner; Pat LeRoy (Beth) Pace Jr., Allison and Patrick Conner; and Anna Elizabeth Pace (Kelly) Jobe.

The Pace Family extends their deepest gratitude for the loving care provided by Lupita Lopez and Briana Trevino.

The Celebration of his Life and Resurrection will be held at three o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 9th of September 2023, at the First United Methodist Church, 1225 Boca Chica Boulevard, Brownsville, Texas 78520. The service will be livestreamed and may be viewed at www.youtube.com/@fumcbrownsville2271.

In lieu of floral arrangements and customary remembrances, memorials are suggested to the First United Methodist Church Pace Music Scholarship, 1225 Boca Chica Boulevard, Brownsville, Texas 78520, (956) 546-5364; or to the Good Neighbor Settlement House, 1254 East Tyler Street, Brownsville, Texas 78520.

Memories of Pat may be shared at www.darlingmouser.com.

Personalized funeral arrangements directed by Steven R. Hieu Bailey and Staff have been entrusted to the care of Darling-Mouser Funeral Home at 945 Palm Boulevard in Brownsville, Texas 78520, (956) 546-7111.