Dr. Patrick James Doyle was born on October 20, 1937, in Sioux Falls, S.D., the oldest of six children born to John and Madeline Doyle.  He died on October 8 at St. Thomas Rutherford after a short illness.

He is survived by his wife, Dr. Delores M. Doyle; his children, sons Shawn Patrick Doyle (Kris) of Scottsdale, AZ and Timothy Michael Doyle (Rachel Powers) of Memphis, TN; daughters Dr. Kathleen Marie Smith of Little Rock, AR  and Tamara Lynn Davenport (John Lawrence) of Nashville, TN; grandchildren Dr. Patrick Smith (Lauren), Dr. Daniel Smith, and Dr. Kaitlin Long (Alex), all of Little Rock; Megan Doyle and fiancée, Brian Trummel of Scottsdale, AZ and Shane Doyle of Denver, CO; sister Mary Jo Habermann (Dr. Thomas) of Rochester, MN; brothers Robert (Karen), Larry (Martha), Tom (Kelly) , and Steve, all of Fort Dodge, IA; and numerous nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents; son-in-law, Dr. Thomas Smith; sister-in-law, Barbara Coffey; and brother-in-law, Harry Coffey.

Patrick spent his early years in South Dakota and Iowa and graduated from Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, Iowa.  His teaching career began at Hanover High School in Hanover, Illinois.  He earned his Master's degree at MTSU and his doctorate at Indiana University.  He taught at MTSU from 1966 to 2002 when he retired.

During his teaching career, Patrick received many honors, including MTSU Outstanding Teacher Award, MTSU Outstanding Public Service Award, and the Tennessee Lifetime Achievement Award.  He initiated the recycling program at MTSU in 1972 with the proceeds establishing numerous scholarships.  In 1999, he was awarded the Points of Light and was honored at the White House in 2000 where he received the highest public service award our nation bestows on an individual which was presented by President Clinton.  He had served as a Trustee of the MTSU Foundation and had been honored as an MTSU Distinguished Alumni.

Pat enjoyed spending time with his family, playing racquetball, bridge, ballroom dancing, yard work, making Christmas ornaments, and travel, having traveled to all 50 states, over 60 countries, and six continents.  He was an avid letter writer and had written daily to his mother for the last ten years of her life, as well as to family and friends.

Memorials may be given to the Dr. Patrick Doyle Scholarship at MTSU.

Visitation will be 2:00PM until 5:00PM Saturday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel followed by Celebration of Life for Dr. Patrick James Doyle 5:00PM Saturday at Woodfin Memorial Chapel. www.woodfinchapel.com