Professor Patrick J. Moylan

Patrick Joseph Moylan (born March 12, 1953) died January 30th after fighting brain cancer for almost three years.

He was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas with two sisters and two brothers in a modest home.  He attended elementary and middle school at St. Laurence Catholic School.  At around the age of 14, he enrolled at Alamo Catholic High School.  The Sisters allowed him to study at the St. Francis Convent library after classes, where he would browse through the mathematics and physics sections for hours at a time. He graduated Alamo Catholic High School early, went for two years to Amarillo Junior College, and then started his studies in physics and mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin.  He received a B.S. in 1974, a M.A. in 1978, and a Ph.D. in 1982, each of them in physics.  He then started his career as a university professor with positions at the University of Munich, St. Louis University, The Bulgarian Academy of Science, MIT, Czech Technical University in Prague, and Penn State University, where he worked from 1988 to 2024.  He published many articles and has been cited for his work in mathematical physics.  He received many awards and grants over the years, including the prestigious J.W. Fulbright Lectureship.

While researching in Bulgaria, his love of classical music brought him to a concert where he met his late wife, the pianist Kalina Georgieva. They had a son, Stephen, with whom they shared their respective disciplines.  After the loss of his wife in 2005, he raised his son on his own with love and devotion.  He would maintain his wife's legacy by continuing to share piano and the Bulgarian heritage with his son.

His love of travel took him around the world, where he made many friends through his loving, caring, and compassionate personality, captivating them with his astute knowledge and curiosity.  He was a mathematical physicist, a history and literature enthusiast, an amateur pianist, a father, a brother, a husband, a teacher, a friend, a devout Christian, and a man whose life cannot be contained in anything short of a book.

Survivors include his son Stephen Moylan and his wife Samantha Hipe-Moylan, a sister Sharon Moylan, a brother John Moylan, a sister-in-law Maria Vladimirova, a brother-in-law Al Quinto and a sister-in-law Robin Moylan.

His viewing will be held on Saturday at 9 AM at the Russian Orthodox Church of Our Lady.  Requiem Services will be sung at 10 AM.  Burial will follow at St. Mary of the Assumption Byzantine Catholic Cemetery, Hamilton Township, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Patrick's memory may be made to: he Church of Our Lady, The Philadelphia Chamber Ensemble or PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Wellness Society).

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