Price, Pamela

PRICE, Pamela "Pam" Jayne Champion

Pamela "Pam" Jayne Champion Price, artist, educator, creative visionary, and advocate for so many, passed on Sunday, May 22, 2022, at 77 at her home in Odessa, Texas. She was born in San Francisco on June 9, 1944, the first of three children, while her dad was stationed there after Pearl Harbor. The family later lived in South Carolina, Ohio, and Georgia. During her childhood, Pam was a Girl Scout, played softball and basketball, and rode horses when she had the chance. She and her brothers Wayne and Steve celebrated winters in Ohio snow sledding and summers in Georgia at the lake water skiing. Pam attended Georgia State after high school and went to the University of Georgia to obtain a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking, graduating in the late 1960s. Pam married Joel Roderick (Rod) Price in Decatur, Georgia July 18, 1970. The couple moved right away to Washington State and remained there while Rod worked on his law degree, later relocating to Lubbock, Texas, where he graduated. Pam and Rod then moved to Odessa, where Rod joined a law firm and started his career. By 1974, Pam had taken a position teaching art at The University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB). She would later become head of the Art Department and Dean of Humanities. Pam was a magnificent spirit and a generous, supportive teacher. Her students loved her, and she taught each one as an individual. Her critiques invited students to learn and grow as artists and as people. As their champion, she was generous with her time and was the same toward other artists, no matter their experience or ability. At one point, Pam purchased the home next door to her own in Odessa and turned it into her studio. She kept art and supplies there, with the frequent invitation to students and friends to join her for lively conversation, creativity, and bridge. Pam was devoted to art and never retired from it. Ever. She kept up with those in her world, and that world was vast. She was upbeat, made you laugh, and could banter with the best regarding politics. Pam loved being home, in her yard, and entertaining. She was good-hearted, fun, enthusiastic, helpful, and genuinely interested. It felt good to talk with Pam. She was direct, fierce, and a force of nature. She worked hard and was a go-getter. Pam practiced the rare art of not only writing thank you notes but of often sending them as handmade art cards. She embraced others, made time to connect, and never complained. Pam was part of a birthday group that met for almost 20 years, celebrating birthdays and, often, Christmas together. She was naturally authentic in all her relationships. Pam's vision, perception, and tenacity resulted in the expansion of art at UTPB. She served the University until 2009—35 years—always seemingly ahead of the curve, both locally and globally. A fierce advocate for women and the arts, she was a force in moving UTPB to a four-year degree university. During her tenure, she oversaw nearly every critical phase of the creation of the art major, from hiring faculty to building curricula. She was pivotal in imagining, planning, and developing the Charles A. Sorber Visual Arts Studios on the UTPB campus. She was named the Mr. and Mrs. Louis Rochester Professor in Fine Arts in 1981. In 1985, she received the Amoco Outstanding Teacher Award and, in 2002, the Piper Professor award. With so many and so much to be devoted to, Pam's deepest affection may have gone to her dogs Isky, Neesa, Zara, and Kash, and a little mix Rod picked up along the way named Harley. All but Harley were Salukis, a breed Pam admired for their beauty, considering them elegant and stylish, and would go on to participate in shows and earn championships. Pam was competitive and enjoyed the game. By the late 1990s, these same beloved dogs also appeared in her art. Those left to cherish her memory are her brother Wayne and his wife Carolyn Finney Champion; her brother Steven's wife Deborah Powell Champion; and aunt, Patricia Laughter, and uncle, Randall Champion; nieces and nephews, Megan, David and his wife, Shalene, Mikala and Michael; and great-nieces and great-nephews Sarah, Kayleigh, Brent, Emy Lue and Marloe. Pam is preceded in death by her husband, Rod Price; parents John Clyde and Lorraine Weber Champion; and her brother Steven Champion. A celebration of life and retrospective is on July 19, 2022, at 1:30 PM in the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery located in the Charles A. Sorber Visual Arts Studios on the UTPB campus. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Pam Price Endowed Art Scholarship, https://www.utpb.edu/university-offices/advancement/donate-to-ut-permian-basin, or mail a tax-deductible donation to the Office of Institutional Advancement. The University of Texas Permian Basin, 4901 East University, Odessa, TX 79762. Arrangements are entrusted to Acres West Funeral Chapel. Condolences to the family may be made online at acreswestfuneral.com.

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Funeral Home Information

Acres West Funeral Chapel and Crematory

8115 W. University Blvd.

West Odessa, TX