By Murrel Bland

I was saddened when I received a telephone call letting me know that Pat Sedlock had died Thursday, March 16. Pat had a very impressive record of business and voluntary contributions.

Pat once told me that she came to Kansas City sort of by accident. Her father was a construction worker who followed projects. The family came to Kansas City and their car broke down. They decided to stay here.

Pat was born in Ft. Dodge, Iowa. She attended Argentine High School and worked two jobs—in a dental office and as a carhop at Allen’s Drive-In. It was at Allen’s that she met her husband-to-be—Phil Sedlock. Pat recalled that Phil was “a good tipper.” Pat was a longtime volunteer with the March of Dimes organization. The fact that Phil was a polio victim inspired Pat to be involved. Pat and her husband owned and operated Sedlock Tow service and a service station on Central Avenue.

I recall the 1970s when Pat was part of group that met for morning coffee at the Colonial Cafeteria in the Wyandotte Plaza Shopping Center. The group would discuss community issues including politics. One of the members of this group was The Rev. Ron Holland, the father of our present Mayor, Mark Holland. Ron Holland was pastor of Grandview United Methodist Church.

Pat was appointed to the Kansas City, Kansas, School Board following her volunteer efforts encouraging the public to accept the 1977 federal desegregation decision. She ran for Mayor in 1979 against incumbent Jack Reardon. Although she lost, she did get a commitment from Mayor Reardon to study the form of city government. In 1982, after a year-long study, voters approved a change in city government from a patronage-riddled commissioner system to one with a professional administrator and council members from districts. I served on that study committee; the chairman of the committee was Dr. O. L. Plucker, the superintendent of the Kansas City, Kansas, School District. The change in the form of government was a necessary first step that led to city-county government consolidation in 1997.

Pat founded a commercial real estate agency. Her daughter, Cherise Marie Sedlock, follows in that profession. Pat was a longtime member of Business West, serving on its board of directors. She received the Joe Maderak Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2015.

The funeral service for Patricia Louise Sedlock will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 1 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St., Kansas City, Kan. Lunch will follow the service.
Persons may express condolences by visiting the Internet site www.marybutlermeyers.com.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.