Volleyball coach remembered

She’s been called an icon, a legend and a generous volleyball coach, one who handed down the values instilled in her while growing up on a farm - faith, hard work and a lot of laughter - to the generations that followed her on and off the Lamesa High School (LHS) volleyball court that now bears her name.

Patty Browning, who died Jan. 21 at the age of 79, leaves behind a trail of numerous accomplishments and the trophies to prove it, former players and students, and an identical twin sister, Tippy Browning, who was her constant companion and fellow coach throughout their lives and careers.

“Unless you are a twin, you cannot understand the bond of twins. There’s never been a Tippy without Patty or a Patty without Tippy,” said her nephew Brad Thompson.

The twins never married or had children of their own, but they touched the lives of countless LHS students and athletes; and their nieces, nephews and their children.

Patty was remembered Monday as her family and hundreds others gathered at her funeral in the Kurt Pierce Athletic Facility on the LHS campus.

“Thank you for being here. Thank you for having the Browning sisters throughout their lives,” said Mark Hackett, minister of the Lamesa Church of Christ, who led the welcome service. “We know that they have touched so many lives in the community. Thank you for allowing Patty to be a part of our lives.”

The athletic center’s lobby was filled with the twins’ countless trophies, old yearbooks and photos of them with their varsity volleyball teams and athletes.

The retired volleyball coach was so highly regarded that school board members named the new gym’s court after both sisters as the Patty and Tippy Competition Courts. School was let out early late Monday morning so school staff and students could attend Patty’s service. The family requested they wear black and gold to the funeral.

They gathered to remember Patty as a strong, but fair coach who told players she was going to the playoffs that year and hoped they could come with her.

She and her sister took four LHS varsity teams to the state playoffs, winning the championship in 1986. They celebrated their 900th win together and were recognized by the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Girls Coaches Association in 2015.

“They just were the Tors volleyball program,” said one of their former players, Johnna Prather McMillin. “They wanted us to be proud of where we came from. And I am proud. Really proud.”

Now a mother of fivemonth- old Lana and living in Lubbock, McMillin played for the coaching twins from 2010 through 2012. She also attended the same church with the sisters, Lamesa Church of Christ.

“They were dedicated to that just as much as they were to volleyball,” McMillin said about the twins attending church services.

Patty coached through the pain of an old knee injury from a high school basketball game that limited her mobility. She endured numerous surgeries and coached while on crutches, using a cane or sitting in a wheelchair.

The Browning sisters continued coaching until their retirement in 2015. But they apparently couldn’t stay away. They took up working on the high school yearbook until taking up a lighter load of the middle school yearbook. Though they retired for the second time last year, they still had their office, now called the “Browning Room,” at LHS.

When reflecting on his great-aunt, Justin Thompson said they shared a similar birthday that didn’t include Tippy. He was born in March 1998 when Patty received a knee replacement. She would occasionally ask him how old he was so she could remember how many years it’s been since the operation.

He remembered her as the catcher who volunteered even having to croach down with a bad knee - to play ball with him as a boy when he dreamt of winning the World Series.

“Little did she know, I got the full use of her knee replacement,” Jason said.

Family members shared other stories of the twins growing up with three siblings. They weren’t usually referred to by their nicknames. They were often just called, “The Twins.”

When they were kids, the twins had an uncle who was proud of his new Cadillac. When everyone was together, they finally wondered where the twins were. Both Patty and Tippy took it upon themselves to get a screwdriver and remove every screw they could find inside that new car. The uncle didn’t want them punished since they were so cute and everything could be screwed back.

In another tale, when their father was taking hogs to market, they unscrewed the lugs on the trailer’s tires. Their father was impressed over the strength it took to do it.

Through the service, photographs of Patty and Tippy were presented on the court’s new scoreboards. There were black and white photos of the twins as infants, toddlers, youngsters, teenagers, graduates and basketball players before converting to color pictures of them as coaches on the volleyball court, talking to their players or with their teams.

“She leaves behind a legacy not only defined by her accomplishments, but for the love of her family,” Justin said.