Patricia McCoy

Patricia Volk McCoy, formerly of Davenport and Bettendorf and most recently Grimes, passed away peacefully on July 1 in West Des Moines surrounded by her children and embraced by the prayers and well wishes of extended family and friends. 

 Funeral Services and a Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 8, 2024 at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 916 E. Rusholme St., Davenport. The Mass will be live-streamed by visiting St Paul the Apostle FacebookBurial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport. Visitation will be Sunday, July 7, 2024 from 2 – 4 p.m. with a prayer service at 3:30 p.m. at Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, 614 Main Street, Davenport.

 Pat was born in Davenport on January 24, 1938, to parents Neva and Elwood Volk and graduated from Davenport High School in 1955. She attended Monmouth College, graduated from Augustana with BA in Math and Northwestern University with a master’s in school counseling. She married Robert C. McCoy in 1961 and together they spent their lives raising four children and serving the community and the church. 

 Deeply committed to providing education to students facing challenging circumstances including pregnancy, illness or other issues, Pat worked at the Davenport Public Schools for 30 years. She began as a teacher, progressed to counselor, and finally served as principal at the Kimberly Center. Her passion was centered on ensuring pregnant girls, students with illness requiring home or hospital instruction, and those in treatment were provided the opportunity to achieve success in high school. Among her proudest professional achievements are writing a federal grant to start the school’s daycare center and helping organize the Child’s Play Day Care for the employees of the district and Genesis. 

 An avid musician, she played the violin throughout her life, including during her school-aged years with the Quad City Symphony. She later played with Monmouth, Augustana and St. Ambrose Community orchestras, and over the years with several quartets performing at weddings and receptions. Her favorite place to play was in church. No McCoy Christmas Eve was complete until her violin accompanied the family in singing Christmas carols. 

 In retirement she spent countless hours serving as a member of the Catholic Service Board and volunteering at Cinderella Cellar, taking piano lessons, researching genealogy, playing the violin, and traveling. There were many trips to Des Moines to attend the grandkids’ sporting events and dance recitals as well as adventures abroad including one to Ireland and Scotland to meet her pen pal of more than 60 years. 

 She is preceded in death by her husband and parents. Left to cherish her memory are her children Kathi (Bob) Scott, Mike, Mary Beth (Steve) Haugen, and Carole (Will) Johnson; grandchildren Megan (Kyle) Korte, Nikki (Michael) Riniker, Matt Scott, and Noah and Nick Haugen, Cooper, Abby, Maddie and Paige Johnson; great grandchildren Kennedy, Jackson, Madison, and Carter Korte.

 Memorials may be made to the Catholic Service Board, Cinderella Celler, 230 W. 35th #1, Davenport, Iowa 52806, and St. Paul’s Catholic Church.