A 30-year member of Berry’s Board of Trustees (1970-2000) and five-year chair whose legacy at the college remains powerful died Feb. 18, 2023, at age 96.
H.G. “Pat” Pattillo was a strong, generous and kind “mover and shaker” who never forgot his roots growing up on a tenant farm even as he built – with his father and brother – one of the most successful construction companies in Georgia. His beloved wife, Betty, was his steadfast partner, his rock.
Invited to sit on the boards of numerous civic clubs, Georgia companies, colleges and universities, as well as serving as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta and co-founding Leadership Georgia, Pattillo always strove to help others.
After retirement, he dedicated himself to developing Hacienda Pinilla, a beach resort community on 4,500 acres of Pacific Coast property in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. In addition to providing jobs, he founded a nonprofit organization to strengthen education, health care and housing in the region.
Pattillo’s efforts led to Berry’s involvement in the area, seeding a partnership with Guanacaste and its people that has endured for many years. Costa Rican students have come to Berry through the Pattillo Scholarship Program, and numerous Berry students have traveled to Guanacaste for a summer immersion experience.
“I will never forget,” President Steve Briggs was quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “sitting at a campfire on a beach on the coast of Guanacaste listening to Mr. Pattillo describe to Berry students how he hoped their experience in the local villages and schools would inspire them to be ambitious in service to others.”
Costa Rica native Alessandra Rodriguez-Peters Elliott (95C) personally was inspired by Pattillo, a man she describes as “an incredible human being.” The bonds connecting her family and his run deep, tracing back to before she was born. When it came time for college, Pattillo gave her a scholarship to attend Berry, even inviting her to stay with his family during school breaks.
“Among other things, I admire and try to emulate Mr. Pattillo’s kindness, generosity and humility,” Elliott wrote for his memory book. “That was the biggest lesson he taught me. Never forget where you came from, but try to help others if you are able to. I’ve had an absolutely blessed life. He gave me an opportunity I would have not had otherwise, and I’ve made it my mission to pay it forward, any way I can.”
