Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
It's been just over a year since police say a Holladay man ran down his wife and left her for dead by the side of the road. His trial is set to begin Monday, and tonight friends gathered to remember her.
Friends of Patricia Rothermich are mixed on if they'll attend her husband's trial, but they do agree on how to best carry on her legacy.
She was very funny, very smart; she was a very spiritual person," Rothermich's friend Meredith Simmons remembered.
Those who loved Rothermich say she was a best friend to dozens and worked just as hard to maintain those friendships as she did at her job.
"She was such a great person and so involved in social work and helping children and families," said Joanne Douglas, also one of Rothermich's friends.
These friends want to carry on her legacy by creating a scholarship in her name at the University of Utah.
"What we're asking is it goes to a graduate student working in child welfare," Simmons explained.
Rothermich was hit and killed while on a walk near her home in October 2007. Police arrested her husband, Sherman Lynch, after a woman he was having an affair with identified the truck used to kill Rothermich.
For friends, it was almost too much to handle. "I identified the body, and I told her then I would see this through," friend Kathleen Mathie said.
Her friends have seen it through. While some choose to work on raising money for the scholarship, others choose to attend all court proceedings.
Four were in court today as Lynch appeared briefly before a judge. They say they'll be there when the trial starts Monday.
"We need this to be over now. It's been a long time," Douglas said.
Lynch faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted.
To contribute to the Patricia Rothermich endowment, contact the University of Utah's School of Social work. For information on Rothermich's scholarship fund, click the related link to the right of the story.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
