Andy Vaughn

Dear Miller family,

Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers as you celebrate the life of Pat at a time when physical gathering may be difficult.

As a kid, I was impressed that Pat was the type of father who would study the music that Patrick liked. I was also intrigued one day when Patrick told us (his Montreat friends) not to mess up the papers on his dad’s desk because he was one of the few people in the world who could read certain texts. I never dreamed that just a decade later that Pat would be teaching me those languages and texts, and that he would later direct my dissertation. I am so grateful that I was able to study under him, and that Amy and I were graced with the love that he and Mary Ann shared with us.

While he was an amazing scholar who influenced at least three generations of pastors, I most appreciate Pat as a wonderful person who loved his family, community, and church. I still remember his charge at my ordination—to care for others so that no one was ever surprised to learn that I was a Christian and a pastor.

I think that the words of Ruth 3:11 (adapted into the masculine) are most appropriate for one of Montreat’s greats: “All the gate of my people know that you are a mighty person.”

May his memory be a blessing.

Andy Vaughn

Executive Director, American Schools of Oriental Research