Earlier this summer, Seminary of the Southwest mourned the passing of one of its most enduring figures. Harold Booher, longtime professor and librarian, died on June 23, 2025, at the age of 95. With his passing, the seminary community reflects on a legacy of devotion, hospitality, scholarship, and quiet leadership that shaped the institution for more than three decades.
From 1967 to 2000, Harold served as Director of the Library and Professor of Theological Literature and New Testament. His wife, Pat Booher, joined him as Assistant Librarian in 1972. Together, they were the steady heartbeat of the seminary—a couple whose lives were deeply woven into the rhythm of academic life, institutional memory, and pastoral presence.
“Harold’s steady presence and commitment to Southwest is remembered fondly by all who knew him,” says Dean and President Scott Bader-Saye. “Through their commitment and care, Harold and Pat laid a strong foundation for our current library holdings. Their legacy at Southwest is rich and their work continues to pay dividends for all of our library patrons. We are blessed to be able to remember them and tell their story.”
“Harold and Pat were more than faculty and staff,” said one longtime colleague. “They were the soul of this place.”
The Boohers began their days in typical fashion—arriving early, turning on the lights in the library, unfolding The New York Times, and preparing to serve. Their work was consistent, humble, and almost invisible in its dependability. Yet their impact was unmistakable. Upon their retirement in 2000, the seminary renamed its library in their honor. When the new Bishop Dena A. Harrison Library opened in 2023, the book collection itself retained the Booher name, a testament to the mark they left on generations of students and faculty.
In the Spring 2000 issue of Ratherview, Professor Will Spong likened Harold to a guardian of memory, invoking Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 to describe a man who preserved knowledge not only in books but in spirit. “Harold was and is the guardian of our tradition,” Spong wrote. “He will call no attention to himself. He will ask for nothing. It is his way.”
Pat, too, was a beloved presence, known for her signature laugh—“a full, rich laugh full of wide open spaces and stars the size of magnolia blossoms,” wrote Mikail McIntosh-Doty, a former colleague in the library. Pat brought warmth and levity to the seminary, often hosting faculty gatherings with food, hospitality, and the occasional Harvey Wallbanger. She drove for Meals on Wheels, never missed a colleague’s birthday, and had a fearless streak—she once integrated a hotel restaurant in Africa by sheer force of will and moral clarity.
The Boohers’ love story began in Africa, where Harold served as a missionary and Pat, a West Texas native with expert marksmanship (she once shot a lion), caught his attention and heart. They built a life of intention and generosity, raising two sons, opening their home to students and colleagues alike.
They were deeply devoted to their three grandsons—attending every in-town game of softball, soccer, or T-ball—and to their famously grumpy cat, Mange, who came to rule their household despite frequent complaints. Their lives were marked not by spectacle, but by steadfastness: Harold preaching in chapel with precise exegesis and subtle shifts in body language to convey meaning; Pat waking at 4 a.m. to make low-fat Welsh scones for even the smallest occasion.
When Pat passed away in 2019, she left behind a legacy of fierce love, vibrant humor, and faithful service. With Harold’s passing this June, the seminary bids farewell to a beloved teacher, colleague, and friend whose shrug could say more than most could with a speech.
Their lives—so deeply entwined with the daily life of Seminary of the Southwest—leave a void, but also a living legacy. Their names may adorn a collection, but their spirit endures in every story shared, every act of quiet kindness, and every book opened in pursuit of truth.
As McIntosh-Doty once wrote: “Together they have done amazing things, always as acts of love.”
