Pamela Jean Wohlpart

Pamela Jean (Hancock) Wohlpart was born in Denver, Colorado, on

December 28,1940 and passed away peacefully on July 14, 2026 in Oak

Ridge, Tennessee. She was the oldest of the four children of Wallace

("Wally") and Marguerite ("Pinky") Hancock: Pam, Pat, Rita, and Bill.

The family lived in Denver and grew up with the Rocky Mountains as their

playground. On countless camping trips the kids would roam about the

mountains while Wally and Pinky fished for trout in the mountain streams.

Pam loved dancing to any song by Elvis Presley and spoke often as an adult

about her collection of his records. She was very creative and had a strong

artistic streak that came through in her paintings, photo albums, and

masterpiece bulletin boards. She entertained her siblings and cousins with

her vivid imagination. One time, she turned the family vacuum cleaner into a

monster, putting a sheet over it so that when it was turned on it blew up like a

ghost.

Pam went to Colorado State University in 1958, where she met her future

husband, Alfred Wohlpart. They were married two years later, on August 20,

1960. They had five children: David (m. Wendy Brockett), Heidi McDaniel, Jim

(m. Sasha Linsin), Bridgett (m. April Ashburn), and Kathryn (m. Hsiung Chou).

As Alfred pursued his professional career, the family lived in Ft. Collins,

Colorado; Austin, Texas; Zurich, Switzerland; Gambier, Ohio; and Oak Ridge,

Tennessee.

While Al was the "sail" that carried the family to many places and adventures,

Pam was the "keel" that kept the family steady through every season of life.

She navigated the lean years, always finding a way to keep everyone fed,

clothed, and surrounded by love.

The Wohlpart family moved to Oak Ridge in 1977 when Al took a job at Oak

Ridge Associated Universities. All five kids graduated from Oak Ridge High

School before moving on to college. During these years, Pam worked as an

administrative assistant in the vocational building at Oak Ridge High School

and then for St. Mary parish. She was very active at St. Mary parish, most

joyfully when singing in the contemporary music group or fostering

newcomers to the Catholic faith through the RCIA program. After their

retirements, Pam and Al traveled extensively to visit their children and

grandchildren and also throughout Europe.

Pam found her greatest purpose and deepest joy in being the mother to her

five children. Nothing made her happier than having her entire family

gathered together, filling the house with conversation, occasional arguments,

riotous laughter, and always love. Though she is no longer with us, the quiet

strength, kindness, and unwavering love she gave so freely live on in each of

her children, and is being passed on in the generations that follow. Her

legacy is not only the family she raised, but the love she planted in their

hearts - a love that continues to grow and be shared.

Her beloved husband Alfred Wohlpart predeceased her in August 2020 after

a long battle with metastatic parotid gland cancer. She is survived by her five

children, nine grandchildren (Michael McDaniel. Zachary Wohlpart, Kathryn

Wohlpart, Mark Wohlpart, Jenna Wohlpart, Maggie McDaniel, Ethan Chou,

Sophie Chou, and Andrew Chou), and three great-grandchildren (Matthew

McDaniel, Rhys Wohlpart, and Penny McDaniel). She is also survived by her

sisters Pat Lohman (Bob) and Rita Raymond (Chris), and her brother Bill

Hancock (Dee).

A funeral mass will be held at St. Mary's Church on August 12 at 11am

followed immediately by the internment of her remains in the columbarium at

St. Mary's. The family will receive friends at St. Mary's prior to the service

from 10-11am. Donations in memory of Pam can be made to St. Mary Parish

in Oak Ridge, TN.

You are encouraged to share a memory of Pam and/or your personal condolences with her family by visiting her memorial webpage and guestbook at www.companionfunerals.com. Companion Funeral & Cremation Service of Oak Ridge, TN, is honored to assist the family with these arrangements.