Carl Patrick

Family-Placed Death Notice

Carl Lloyd Patrick December 6, 1918 - July 4, 2007 Carl Lloyd Patrick, motion picture pioneer, business leader, and Ret. Chairman of Carmike Cinemas died Wednesday, July 4, 2007. Funeral services will be held today at 1:00 PM at St. Luke United Methodist Church with Dr. Hal Brady and Rev. Helen Berenthien officiating according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary, Columbus. Interment to follow in Parkhill Cemetery. From very humble beginnings, Patrick became a very successful businessman and one of the leaders in the motion picture industry. He was founder of the Carmike Corporation in Columbus that became owners of the original Martin Theatres, as well as many other theatre companies. He was awarded three of the highest awards given in the industry, Motion Piicture Pioneer; the Sherrill Corwin award; and Exhibitor of the Decade presented in May,1990. Patrick was a director of Variety International, the Will Rogers Institute and has served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Theatre Owners and many other charitable boards connected with the motion picture industry. Patrick was born in Honaker, Virginia, December 6, 1918, the son of Deward and Virginia McGraw Patrick. His father died when Patrick was ten, and after graduating from the Dublin, Maryland High School, Patrick went to work in a CCC Camp, then as a laborer on various construction jobs. He also worked at Bethlehem Steel Corp., in Baltimore, Maryland. He entered the Army as a private in 1941. He graduated from OCS and the parachute school at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in 1942, when he joined the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment which later became part of the 82nd Airborne Division. He was inducted into Ft. Benning's OCS Hall of Fame in 1997. Mr. Patrick was wounded in the Sicilian campaign in 1943, and returned to the USA, leaving the service with the rank of Major in 1945 serving as chief of the Parachute Branch, Army Ground Forces R&S Command. He joined Martin Theatres as a trainee in 1945 and was named General Manager in 1948. He became President of Martin Theatres in 1969 when Martin Theatres was merged in Fuqua Industries. He became President of the parent company (Fuqua Industries) and served in that capacity for nine years. In April, 1982, with his two sons, he bought Martin Theatres and later renamed it Carmike Cinemas. Locally, he has served on many boards including CB&T; Callaway Chemical Co.; Burnham Service Corporation; as well as many civic boards. He was a trustee of Columbus State University, Georgia Southwestern University in Americus, Georgia; and the Columbus Museum. He was a major supporter of Columbus Tech and served on its board. Columbus Tech awarded him their first "Distinguished Friend of Columbus Technical Institute" award in 1997. Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky awarded him a doctorate in 1998. Among his many civic appointments were Chairman of the Board of Public Safety in the 1960s and Chairman of the first Off-Street Parking Committee in the 1950s. Mr. Patrick was a member of many clubs, including Columbus Country Club, Green Island Country Club, The Chattahoochee River Club and Big Eddy Club in Columbus, and also a member of the Capital City Club and the Commerce Club in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church and its Shaw Sunday School Class. He is survived by his wife, Frances; two sons, Carl Patrick, Jr. and wife, Elizabeth S. Patrick and Michael W. Patrick and wife, Jayne J. Patrick; two grandsons Michael Wynn Patrick, II and Alexander Deward Patrick; one brother Harold Patrick.