Well-known local educator Patterson dies
Malvin W. “Pat” Patterson Jr., a well-known local educator and businessman, died Oct. 24, 2017, at his Texarkana home. He was 92.
A life-long resident of Texarkana, Texas, Patterson was born at 2216 W. 10th St. on Nov. 24, 1924. He grew up in the Rose Hill neighborhood, the only son of Malvin William Patterson Sr. and Nancy Williams Patterson. He attended Dunbar High School and was member of the Dunbar Buffaloes football team. He later became a founding member of the Dunbar National Alumni Association.
Upon graduating from Dunbar in 1942, he enrolled at Prairie View Agricultural & Mechanical College. A year and a half later he enlisted in the United States Navy Hospital Corps School at San Diego. He served on several ships during World War II and was involved in “Operation Iceberg,“a strategy of “island hopping” adopted by U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz. He received an honorable discharged on Feb. 14, 1946.
He returned to Prairie View, where he majored in Education Administration and received his bachelor’s degree in 1949. He was the first “Patterson” in his family to earn a college degree. While there, he met Mae Jewell Reed of Waco, Texas, who was a home economics major. They were married on Aug, 23, 1949 and stayed that way for 62 years. She preceded him in death on Sept. 30, 2011.
Patterson returned to Texarkana in 1949 and began his career in education as a school teacher at Clear Lake Elementary School in Wamba. Two years later he earned a master’s degree in education from Prairie View. In 1955, he was hired by Texarkana Independent School District to be principal of Sunset Elementary School.
According to his his biography, he was proud to say that he was the first African-American Texarkanian to return home to Texarkana as a school district administrator. For the next 31 years, he worked at TISD as principal at the elementary schools of Sunset, Grim School, 15th Street (currently Theron Jones Elementary), and Dunbar.
After retiring from TISD in 1985, Patterson served on the Liberty-Eylau School Board for two terms, acting as president during the 1996-1997 school years.
His public service also included two years as a mail clerk with the United States Postal Service and four years as director of Texarkana Manpower Development Corporation, an agency charged with finding jobs for hundreds of indigent and disadvantaged citizens in skilled and semi-skilled jobs in the Texarkana area.
Patterson was a member of Union Hill Baptist Church, his family’s church for two preceding generations, where he was ordained as a deacon. He was appointed chairman of the deacon board in 1978, succeeding his father, Malvin Patterson Sr., who had held the position for the previous 40 years.
During his life, he and his wife was also affiliated with St. Paul United Methodist Church and New Baptist Bible Fellowship, where their eldest son, Tony, is senior pastor.
Following in the footsteps of his parents, Patterson was engaged in many business ventures and pursuits, including residential property rentals, construction and life insurance sales. Perhaps most notable was his partnership in Haynes-Patterson Mortuary, where he served as co-owner and manager for 15 years (1968-1984). During this time he was also a co-manager of Mae’s Flowers and Wedding Center, a business owned and operated by his spouse.
Patterson is survived by his eldest son, Malvin Anthony (Tony) Patterson and his wife, Sandra Dillard Patterson, of Texarkana, Ark.; and their children Malvin Vincent (Meagan) Patterson, Olathe, Kan.; Eric Marlon Witherspoon (Tajuana), Texarkana, Texas; Monica Janelle Patterson (Ricardo) Beverly, Dallas; Angelita “Chantae” Nelson (William) Block, Arlington, Texas; and Chaunna (Keeli) Layton, Brentwood, Calif.; youngest son, Ronald Everette Patterson and his wife, Brenda Nickerson Patterson, of Rowlett, Texas; and their children Ronald Victor Patterson of Dallas; Adriane Christiana Patterson (Karl) Holmes of Arlington, Texas; Jonathan Chase Patterson of Yukon, Okla.; and Patrick Gaines of Lancaster, Texas.
Service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, at the Mount Orange Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. Arrangements will be under the direction of Haynes Mortuary, Texarkana, Texas.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to the Malvin William “Pat” Patterson Jr. Scholarship Fund at Red River Bank of Texarkana, Texas, 2324 W. Seventh St., Texarkana, Texas 75501.