Patricia Yeatman Nicholas, 75, passed away following a lengthy illness on Monday, November 11, 2019, while under hospice care at the Beehive in Starkville. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday December 1, 2019, at the Longview United Methodist Church where she was a member for most of her life. Pastor Sarah Jo Adams-Wilson will preside. Welch Funeral Home of Starkville is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Nicholas was Born Patricia Frances Yeatman in Longview, MS on March 21, 1944, to Henry and Lucy Kinard Yeatman. She graduated from Starkville High School in 1962, and from Mississippi State University with honors in 1965, with a B.S. degree in English/Education.

While at MSU, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was active in the Wesley Foundation. She married Charles H. Nicholas on December 18, 1966, while they were both working toward Master’s Degrees; she in English and he in mathematics. After obtaining her degree, she worked as an assistant to the Dean, Dr. Harry Simrall, in the College of Engineering. Her work included collaboration with Dr. B. J. Shell on Project CARESOME, the first helicopter rescue experiment in the U.S. for automobile crashes.

In 1970, she and Charles moved to Lawrence, Kansas for him to pursue his Ph.D. degree in mathematics at Kansas State University. Patricia was employed by the KU Center for Research, where she secured funding for engineering grants and research proposals. She was highly involved in the first remote sensing experiments using satellites to gather crop data.

In 1973, she lost her younger brother, Danny Ray Yeatman, and she was also diagnosed with a rare liver disease which was especially rare in women. After battling the disease for 22 years, she received a life-saving liver transplant in 1995, which also forced her to retire. She was the longest surviving liver transplant patient in the University of Kansas Medical Center program.

She stayed active and involved, and embraced the gift of life with courage and determination. She enjoyed traveling as long as she could, reading, teaching water aerobics, entertaining, making creative gifts for family and friends, and participating in church programs and activities.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brother. She is survived by Charles, her husband of 52 years; her brothers Paul Henry Yeatman of Longview, MS, and James Carl Yeatman of Natchez, MS. Nieces and nephews: Lisa Yeatman Wise of Nashville, TN, Randall Yeatman of Starkville; and Wes Yeatman of Birmingham Alabama, and all of their children.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105, or the American Liver Foundation, 39 Broadway, Suite 2700, New York, NY 10006 .