Meet our Vestry

Larry Patton was born in Shawnee Oklahoma, educated in its public schools and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma (BA,1965, LLB, 1967). He lived and practiced law in Oklahoma City from 1967 until his retirement at the end of 2014. Larry served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma in the Carter administration (1978-1981). He was also a certified arbitrator and mediator in his private practice, which focused on small business law, litigation, bankruptcy and aviation transactions. Larry served the Oklahoma Tax Commission as its Senior Assistant General Counsel (2005-2014). He held leadership positions in both professional and social organizations throughout his time in Oklahoma City. Although brought up a Southern Baptist, Larry became an Episcopalian during college and has been an active communicant ever since. He served on the vestry at St. John’s Episcopal Church, as well as its Senior Warden and Board Chairman of its parochial school. Since joining St. Boniface Church, Larry has served on the Grants & Outreach Committee, as its GAIN contact, and as a reader and server. Larry has served on the St. Boniface vestry from 2019 – 2021, and is renewing for a second term. Larry is a performing member of Sarasota's symphonic chorus, Key Chorale, and a Board member, former Development Chair, and its current President. He was also a performing member of the Venice Chorale, and a former board member and Secretary. Larry completed Nonprofit Board Leadership training at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation in 2018.

Bob Woody was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia but spent most of his adult life in Northern Virginia and Washington DC before moving to Florida in 2019. Until joining St. Boniface he was a lifelong United Methodist, but after many years of serving as a substitute organist in a variety of churches, he began to feel that the Episcopal Church was a better fit for him. He is a reader at St. Boniface and also serves on the Friends of Music Committee. In late 2020, Bob semi-retired from his position as Vice-President and Counsel to the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) where he helped the association’s members develop positions on both federal and state issues of interest to the insurance industry. Prior to that, he practiced law for 16 years at a large international law firm, advising both U.S. and non-U.S. clients (including Lloyd’s of London) on insurance legislative and regulatory matters from the firm’s Washington, DC, and London offices. He has testified in Congress before the House Judiciary Committee and before various state legislative committees. Prior to joining the law firm, he worked in several capacities on Capitol Hill and in the Virginia state legislature. He received a B.S. from James Madison University in 1982 and a J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in 1992. Bob lives in Bradenton with his husband, Marty Miller.

Suzanne Barksdale has been a parishioner since 1977 and she considers St. Boniface to be her spiritual home. Suzanne presently serves as Treasurer and co-chairs the Hospitality and Welcome committee of the Strategic Plan initiative.

Suzanne retired in 2019 with two successful careers behind her. She retired as a regional executive with a major bank after thirty-eight years of service. After her husband’s death she joined Tidewell Hospice and developed their Advance Care Program.

Suzanne is active in many aspects of the life of St. Boniface and was named a Boniface Hero in January of 2023.

David Eichlin and his partner, Bob, have been members of St. Boniface since 2003 when they moved to Sarasota to live full time from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. David became an Episcopalian in 2000 and had been a Methodist up to that  time. It was on his first trip to England that he realized that the Episcopal church was where he was meant to worship, but it took many years for him to finally make that move. He grew up on a farm in western New Jersey. After college he eventually found his calling in the mental health/social services field. He worked for 10 years with the chronically mentally ill at a time when states were returning long-term residents in state hospitals to the community. But his true calling was when a new program for school children was started. He coordinated this program for 16 years before the decision was made to move to Florida. After moving he worked for Big Brothers Big Sisters for 10 years and then 7 years with the Sarasota Ballet’s Dance the Next Generation, an after school program for at-risk students. At St. Boniface he has been on the Vestry, the Grants Committee and  has been an usher. He is presently an acolyte and lay reader, secretary to the Vestry and serves on the Altar Guild. Outside of the church, volunteering at Sarasota Memorial Hospital and being a Big Brother are 2 other activities that help to fill his time. David and Bob have been together for 52 years and St. Boniface is a second home for them.

Marjorie Floyd is a third generation St. Boniface parishioner who moved to Sarasota full-time in the early 1990’s. She has served as an executive for private corporations, charitable foundations, and as a marketing consultant and realtor.

Marjorie earned a BA in Theatre from Smith College. She has served on numerous civic and non-profit boards and is an alum of Leadership Florida. Currently she serves as a Trustee of The Out-of-Door Academy and the Field Club Foundation Board. Marjorie and fellow parishioner Caroline Amory were married in 2020 and have an adopted dog named Georgie.

Holley Schroeder, and her husband, Ron, have been congregants at St Boniface Church for 20 years. Holley has been active on the Grants and Outreach committee, 18 years as a Resurrection House volunteer, a eucharistic visitor, three years of Education for Ministry, long-time Foyers committee member, Center for Spiritual Transformation ministry, the Contemplative Prayer group, the Sunday Discussion Group, and most recently as a greeter with Ron. Holley’s upbringing is Roman Catholic, including four years of the Summa Theologica and college level philosophy at Newton College of the Sacred Heart, now a part of Boston College. Subsequently, she spent a decade as a young professional in NYC doing marketing & business research and corporate planning. She met and married Ron, the ceremony concelebrated by Roman Catholic and Episcopal priests at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church. With parenthood, they moved to Chappaqua, NY, and were immediately invited by neighbors to a Congregational church service, which they attended regularly. The experience gave Holley a broader appreciation of Christian community and outreach, and with a retirement move to Sarasota in 2001, St. Boniface became her return to a eucharistic community with significant outreach opportunities. Holley looks forward to the coming years of church service using the experience gained from many years of diverse community board participation.

Donna Conyers is a psychologist and pioneer in cultivating human potential through innovative applications of cognitive science. Former professor of psychology and university administrator, she is the author of 20 books and 75 articles. Donna serves as the president of BrainSMART, a learning and development consultancy she co-founded in 1998. She has shared her work with over 100,000 participants living across the USA and Jamaica, and in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Australia, and Canada. With Nova Southeastern University, Donna co-developed the first doctoral minor in brain based leadership and the first masters in applied mind, brain, and education science. Currently, she is exploring connections between cognitive science and spiritual development. Having attended St. Boniface Church for four years, Donna serves as a member of the center for spiritual transformation leadership team, reader and acolyte, steering committee member for the Francis House, outreach member team, and greeter. Donna and her husband, Marcus, live on Siesta Key and recently renewed their marriage vows in community at St. Boniface. 

Kay and Bob Goodman began attending St. Boniface in 2015, first attracted by the hospitality extended to them as visitors and the inspirational music programming.

Since 2016, Kay has been a connected member of the St. Boniface parish community having been confirmed in 2017. Kay’s current participation in the ministries of St. Boniface includes Altar Guild, lector, Thursday Bible Study, and most recently as a member of the Congregational Team Building Committee, as directed by the Strategic Plan.

In May 2022 she completed the four-year Education for Ministry program in theological education - an accomplishment of which she is most proud and one that transformed her spiritual being.

A native Texan, Kay spent her career in the hospitality industry as a senior executive with global hotel companies in sales, marketing, strategic planning, and facilitating and managing customer advisory boards. She moved to Sarasota in 1997 and retired in 2014.

Justin Miller, along with his wife Nan, and sons Shen & Akio, started attending St. Boniface Church in June 2021, immediately after moving to Venice. Willing and ready to serve in St. Boniface's welcoming environment, the boys quickly jumped into vested ministry as acolytes, and parents quickly followed as readers… or whatever else was needed.

Justin took on coordination of the vested layperson / readers ministry (worship team) in Spring 2022 and joined the vestry a few months later, to complete a vacated term. Justin currently serves as Director of the Office of Research Programs and Service at New College of Florida; Nan as the RN at Riverview High School; and the boys attend Venice High School.

In their spare time, they can probably be found at Disney. They're very happy to have landed at St. Boniface after arriving on Florida and look forward to helping continue to fulfill our vision.