Written By: Greg Johnson
Sara Wold, a Golf Association of Michigan (GAM) president emeritus, remembers Pat Meyers for many things, but especially her generosity.
Meyers passed away on June 26, eight days shy of her 83rd birthday and just weeks after donating $40,000 to fund the Michigan Women’s Golf Association 40th Anniversary Celebration.
“She had a passion for golf, especially women’s golf and girls’ golf, and was always giving back,” Wold said. “She supported the women’s teams at Michigan State and Michigan. She played in charity events to help support many things, but she was also very dedicated to helping girls and women have opportunities to play and enjoy the game she enjoyed.”
The Michigan Women’s Golf Association (MWGA) was special to Meyers, who was a founding member and later provided funding and the leadership in starting the MWGA Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the hall she helped start in 2019 and attended the MWGA 40th Anniversary event at Edgewood Country Club on May 18.
“I sat with her that day and it was so enjoyable to be part of it with her,” Wold said. “She didn’t want her generosity to be a big deal, but it was a big deal.”
GAM Executive Director Chris Whitten said Meyers built a lasting legacy of service to golf.
“What stands out to me about Pat’s legacy is how consistently she showed up,” he said. “Not for one program or one season, but for decades, across nearly every organization built to grow the game for women in this state. That kind of steady commitment is what builds something lasting, and it’s worth all of us pausing to recognize it.”
In addition to her work with the MWGA, which included seven years on the Board of Directors, five years running the Spring Scramble and 15 years managing the Pick-a-Pro Contest, Meyers served as a volunteer course rater for the GAM for 18 years.
She was also on the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association Board as Secretary and was a GAM Club Representative.
Her generosity included the Michigan Golf Foundation, which administers the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, the GAM Foundation, the LPGA Foundation and more.
Wold said she was a great fan of the top women players in golf, especially Michigan’s own Meg Mallon and more recently Lexi Thompson. Thompson, in fact, sent a birthday greeting for an MWGA celebration of Meyers’ 80th birthday.
“She would go to the Solheim Cups,” Wold said. “She loved watching the best players in the world. She liked to travel and play golf. She was a good friend.”
Meyers, a Birmingham resident, was a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy with a degree in mathematics and took an early retirement opportunity while in her 50s from Michigan Bell. In addition to golf, she supported the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, her church, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church, and various community causes and events, including Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services.
She also loved Notre Dame football and enjoyed the Chicago Cubs finally winning a World Series in 2016.
“Pat Meyers’ life was shaped by passion and dedication to her faith, family, friends, Birmingham Next, and golf,” her obituary said. “Pat had a unique personality and with her, what you saw was what you got. Pat treated everyone equally, lived simply and enjoyed life.”
A Memorial Mass was celebrated in July. Memorial donations in honor of Pat can be made to the Michigan Women’s Golf Association (mwgolf.org).
