The Patrick Ministries Committee (aka Patrick Committee) was formed as a response to a bequest from the Doris L. Patrick estate. In 1997, the First United Methodist Church of Oneonta received approximately 1.3 million dollars from the estate. FUMC formed a “Dream Team” of members, who over two years of hard decision making and research were able to establish the Patrick Committee. The task of this committee is to distribute funds from this generous gift to applicants whose goal is to fulfill the missions of FUMC. Over the past 25 years, grants have been given within the church, within the Oneonta community, throughout New York State, and beyond. But who was Doris Patrick, and why was this church one of her beneficiaries?
Looking for information about Doris Patrick has been a challenge. We were not able to find a published obituary for Ms. Patrick. We know that she lived on Otsego Street in Oneonta, was a public school teacher, and was a member of our church. It appears that she made some wise investments. It also appears that she was not one to enjoy the limelight. In fact, when Ms. Patrick was given the outstanding citizen award by Hartwick College in 1980, her brother-in-law, Clarence Morrison, accepted the award on her behalf.
Doris L. Patrick was born on April 16, 1901. She graduated from the Oneonta State Normal School (now SUNY Oneonta) in 1922. Her father was Clarence William Patrick (1861-1938) and her mother was Cora Crippen Patrick (1869-1955). She had a sister, Lela Patrick Morrison (1893-1970). Neither Doris nor Lela had children. Doris Patrick became a member of FUMC in 1944. She died on October 10,1996.
Besides FUMC, Doris donated to Hartwick College, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, hospitals, and several other Oneonta charities. Some gifts were given anonymously. One of the United Methodist Homes is named The Doris L. Patrick Retirement Center, in her honor. There is a Doris Patrick student townhouse on the Hartwick campus. Ms. Patrick had made a $10,000 donation towards the purchase of “The Wesley House”, a house on Walnut Street that was used for campus ministries. She is also a member of the Netzer Planned Giving Society for her Alma Mater, as well.
At some point, Doris Patrick worked with a man named H. Claude Hardy. They were both local public-school teachers. Hardy also became a school administrator. Hardy came to Hartwick College in 1949 and was serving as curator of the Yager museum when the new Yager Hall was built, to which Ms. Patrick was a major contributor. Ms. Patrick helped to endow the Hardy Chair lecture Series of Hartwick’s Sociology and Anthropology departments, which continues annually. H. Claude Hardy later became a minister and was the Oneonta District Lay Leader of the Wyoming Conference of the United Methodist church.
Doris Patrick is buried in the Elk Creek Cemetery in Maryland NY, in a family plot with her parents, grandparents, sister, and brother-in-law. Included here is a photo of Doris Patrick from the 1922 Oneonta yearbook.
Though Doris Patrick’s name is on donor walls and Hartwick halls, it’s nice to have a face and story to connect with her name. We will forever be grateful to this very generous woman.
After the bequest from Doris Patrick was made to FUMC in 1997, a “Dream Team,” was formed to establish where and how the annual interest on the bequest was to be used. After much discussion and information gathering, the Patrick Committee was formed. This committee reviews applications and submits the approved grants to the FUMC Administrative Board for final approval. Originally, the committee planned to meet twice a year (April and October), but that proved impractical for grants that needed immediate attention. The first meeting of the Patrick Committee was held in October of 1999, but for the purposes of this report, the applications/amounts are included in the 2000 total. Currently, the Committee plans monthly meetings. If there are no applications to review in a given month, the meeting is moved to the next month.
The first group are yearly totals of approved grants up to 2005. Several of the grants were approved “up to” a certain amount. The actual funds used could be less, as in some cases, not all of the funds were needed and were returned. Each year, a portion of the interest is allocated to the FUMC budget to support our church’s ministry plan. Every year, funds are approved to be included in the Pastor’s Discretionary Fund, and the amount varies depending on need. After each multi-year group, a few grants will be highlighted to give examples of the range of grants that have been given. Yearly totals are rounded to the nearest dollar and unspent funds are rolled over to the next year.
Year Total approved
2000 $80,000 (started with 2 yrs of interest)
2001 $124,277
2002 $84,191
2003 $63,500
2004 $58,806
2005 $227,233
These first years (up to 2005), included contributing to OFO’s Homeless Shelter; purchasing a church van; starting Youth and Art Programs at FUMC; installing a PA system; helping Portlandville UMC install a chair lift; helping Whitney Point UMC support a seminary student; making a commitment for the tower and windows at FUMC; supporting a Reconciling Ministry in San Francisco; and sending a delegation to an RCP conference in Tacoma, WA.
Year Total approved
2006 $32,359
2007 $77,013
2008 $56,556
2009 $65,688
2010 $72,889
Highlights from these years (2006-2010) include grants for Planned Parenthood; the Oneonta Health Center; Mission Trips and building funds for the Moses Baker School in Jamaica; the Oneonta Teen Center; and the beginning of our yearly support for the EDD Adaptive Sports Program.
Year Total approved
2011 $53,445
2012 $66,254
2013 $64,733
2014 $61,497
2015 $66,254
Highlights from 2011-2015 included hiring an associate pastor at FUMC; supporting a therapeutic riding program; and a grant to Theotokos Ministries.
Year Total approved
2016 $63,862
2017 $67,100
2018 $72,856
2019 $77,055
2020 $77,550
These years (2016-2020) included supporting the “Purple Bag Ministry”, a hospital program to assist victims of sexual assault; a summer adult meal program; a contribution to the Westville UMC; and a grant to the NAACP for a film series.
Year Total approved
2021 $78,350
2022 $61,479
2023 $107,264
2024 $81,500
Highlights from these years (2021-2024) include a grant to the Niagara Frontier City Ministries for helping to repair flood damage; supporting the Willamsville UMC to provide an in-hospital trauma support group; Oneonta’s “Your Safe Haven” (formerly The Lord’s Table) meal program; Oneonta’s Juneteenth Celebration; hiring a Communications Director for FUMC; the Otsego Refugee Resettlement Coalition; and the Hartwick College Food Bank.
So far in 2025, the Patrick Committee has approved grants for FUMC Ministry Plan ($35,000); EDD Adaptive Sports ($6,000); FUMC Trustees Scholarship Endowment ($23,000); Greater Oneonta Historical Society ($26,850); Faithful Citizen (Dana Horrell) for producing a documentary on Haitian Immigrants ($2,500); FUMC Council Retreat ($1,500); and Huntington Memorial Library’s Children’s Library Project ($15,000). A total of $124,850 has been approved to date (June 2025)
There have been many other grants supported over these 25+ years including several for Family Support Services and Catholic Charities. The highlighted grants mentioned hopefully demonstrate the wide range of support that this committee has offered for FUMC programs, Oneonta community programs, and beyond. We are truly grateful for the generosity of Doris L. Patrick.