Charles Hugh Patrick, Jr.

Hugh Patrick, a true Leader, a gentlemen´s gentleman and always a friend. Never a competitor. Hugh you paved many highways for me to follow in your footsteps. Thank you for all the light you shined on those paths . Rest in the peace God has for you. Your Friend, Charles Gavin

My wife, Marsha, and I met Hugh way back in the early 1970s, when I took my first job with the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC).

Hugh, and his brother Phil have been incredibly active and influential in the successes of AATCC for so many years! Hugh joined AATCC in 1958 and served as AATCC President in 1985, and prior to that had also served as a Chair of the AATCC Palmetto Section and as Vice President of the AATCC Southern Region. Prior to that, Hugh had served as Regional Councilor for two terms. He had also served as Chair of the AATCC Individual Membership Committee and Chair of the Committee on Local Sections.

In 1996, at the Association´s International Conference & Exhibition, Hugh was awarded the very prestigious AATCC Chapin Award for service to the Association. I remember how thrilled I was to see my good friend receive this high honor in front of a luncheon of approximately 600 of our members, in Nashville. It was a wonderful occasion.

It was not long thereafter, that Hugh took over the Treasury of AATCC, and I remember well how conscientious he was about that job. Hugh and I spoke every week regarding the Association´s income and expenses, to be sure I knew what I was doing as the new staff leader. Later, while Hugh was still Treasurer, AATCC decided to purchase the assets of a longtime textile publication, American Dyestuff Reporter (ADR). I well remember the trip Hugh, the publications manager, and I took to the offices of the ADR publisher in New Jersey to review their records and do the required due diligence for our purchase. Hugh was so helpful on that trip, as I had never done such a project up until that time.

It was just around that time, that we determined to establish a separate public charity which we termed AATCC Foundation, primarily for the purpose of awarding scholarships to college and university students studying textiles. It was about that time that we were seeing many closures of textile manufacturing facilities in the United States, and probably not the best time to seek funding for a start-up foundation. Charles Gavin, AATCC President by that time, along with Hugh and Phil, made the first three major donations to our new foundation. It´s well worth mentioning, without those three major gifts, AATCC Foundation may have never gotten off the ground. After those three gifts, many more came in, including more gifts from these three gentleman. Last year alone, AATCC Foundation awarded more than $100,000 in many undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships to students studying textiles in many colleges and universities around the United States.

Marsha and I will never forget all of the great things above about Hugh, but the main thing she and I will always cherish is the kindness and friendship he showed to us over so many years. He even suggested the area and possible neighborhoods we should consider when Marsha and I were transferred to Greenville, SC.

Hugh was a true gentleman who really made a positive difference in the lives to so many. God bless you old friend.

Jack and Marsha Daniels, Gaffney, SC