Eugene Patterson

Gene is my dearly loved cousin. We would visit Gene, Sue and Mary many times over my youth. My parents were in London at the time Mary was born. When I was older I would go by the paper and he dropped everything to see me which included lunch many times with Harold Martin and other colleagues. I loved him dearly and will miss him terribly. Now there is only his sister Ann whom we also love very much..

Gene was a patriot in both war and peace. His feet were solidly on the ground. His boyhood,youth and early experience kept him in touch with reality in a way that many others never
achieve. He was truly a broad-gauged individual who touched millions of lives. His work will continue after him.


A friend,

So sorry to hear about your death. My prayers are with you. Please look to the Bible for comfort and reassurance.

A great light to so many; an unforgettable voice of truth and integrity.

Gene Patterson was a friend and colleague of my father, Harold Martin and he and Sue Patterson were our neighbors. I remember so well the many times they were at our house, with Mother playing the "squonk organ" and Gene, the "hog-squalling Adel tenor," singing at the top of his lungs! He and Sue were warm, wonderful, generous people. I often babysat Mary (and I remember "Elizabeth" the dog well!) and they always overpaid me and Gene would always drive me home (only 3 houses away). I treasure his memory but I know he's happy to be home with his sweet Sue.

Gene Patterson was a guiding light to so many journalists, myself included. I grew up with the Washington Post, where he was the M.E., was lucky enough to be at the St. Pete Times and Poynter after he had moved South, and was privileged once to interview him for a book with reflections about Martin Luther King. A courageous journalist and generous man. Thank you, Mr. Patterson.

A TRUE WARRIOR who was armed only with a typewriter.One thing about freedom of speech is everyone should have it,one thing about THE TRUTH is everyone should tell it. Mr. Eugene Patterson is THE TRUTH!

American journalism owes Gene Patterson a great debt. He was a beacon of integrity and fairness. He guided and inspired young journalists.
In the mid-1980s the late Jack Nelson, then Washington bureau chief of the LA Times, and I organized a dinner honoring Gene. Nelson had won a Pulitzer Prize while working with Gene at the Atlanta Constitution. Gene was CEO of the St. Petersburg Times, and I worked for him as publisher of Congressional Quarterly.
Jack and I wanted to express our gratitude to Gene. We decided on a small dinner at the National Press Club. But word got around and the guest list exploded. Soon the main dining room was filled to capacity. I got a call from Katherine Graham's secretary at the Washington Post. Ms. Graham's invitation must have been lost, she explained diplomatically. I'm sorry, I said, I'll send another.
It was a wonderful evening filled with tributes, including a telegram from former President Jimmy Carter. It was not a Washington crowd. People flew in from everywhere. Gene and his wife, Sue, stayed late into the evening, Gene singing "Danny Boy" in the Press Cub Lounge. Gene was special. Not every CEO of a major national newspaper can sing "Danny Boy" a cappella.

We are very sorry to hear of your loss. Please allow the prayers of family and friends comfort you at this time.

I remember when a young journalism student from Savannah, GA, my college fiance, moved to attend Georgia State and ended up working at the Atlanta Constitution-Journal, the home of Eugene Patterson and Ralph McGill. These were incredible, world-changing and sad times.When I later moved to St. Petersburg and later on met Eugene Patterson, I felt I was meeting journalism royalty. These courageous journalists will never be forgotten.