George Wallace Jr: A tribute to John Patterson and a life well lived

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-This May 27, 2004, file photo shows former Alabama Gov. John Patterson reminiscing about the death of his father, attorney general-elect Albert Patterson during an interview with the Associated Press in Montgomery, Ala. Patterson, who entered politics as a reformer after his father’s assassination but was criticized for failing to protect the Freedom Riders from angry white mobs, has died. He was 99. He died Friday, June 4, 2021, his daughter, Barbara Patterson Scholl confirmed Saturday. She said funeral arrangements are pending. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
Since his passing last week at age 99, former Alabama Governor John Patterson, his character, and the deep and decades-long relationship he shared with my family have frequently been in my thoughts.

I met John Patterson in 1958 when he was Alabama’s nationally-famous state attorney general and a candidate for governor against my late father, a former state representative and sitting circuit judge for Barbour and Bullock counties in the Third Judicial Circuit.

As a six-year-old, I would stand on a chair and make political speeches on behalf of my father’s candidacy at political forums across Alabama.  The crowds seemed to like the novelty of such a young boy campaigning for his parent, and it proved to be a valuable introduction to Alabama politics that served me well during my own campaigns years later.

Gov. Patterson and I first shook hands at one of those forums, and he remained a welcome presence in my life for more than 60 years to follow.  He and my father were friends before that campaign, and they maintained their friendship even after Patterson became the only man to defeat him in a gubernatorial campaign and later ran for governor against my mother, Lurleen, in 1966.

In fact, their friendship grew and deepened as the years went by, and more and more of their colleagues, contemporaries, and political allies passed away.

A World War II veteran who served on General Dwight Eisenhower’s staff, Gov. Patterson also saw action in the Korean Conflict before returning to Phenix City and opening a law practice with his father, Albert.

Phenix City was known at the time as the “Wickedest City in America” because of the gambling, prostitution, and other vices that operated openly thanks to a complicit, wink-and-nod agreement with members of local law enforcement.  Because so many of his soldiers were returning to base broke, beaten, and robbed after payday, General George Patton, while stationed at Fort Benning, once threatened to cross the Chattahoochee River and flatten Phenix City with his tanks.

John’s father, Albert Patterson, a former member of the Alabama Senate who wished to restore law and order to the city, sought help from state officials in Montgomery, but he found that many of them, as well, had been co-opted by the Dixie Mafia when they refused his requests.  Taking matters into his own hand, he ran a statewide campaign for attorney general on a platform of cleaning up Phenix City.  Despite widespread vote fraud intended to rob him of victory,  Albert Patterson won the Democratic primary, which was then tantamount to election, but he was assassinated outside his law office by the same criminal network he was working to destroy.

John Patterson ran for attorney general in his father’s place, and he vindicated his murder with zeal.  Working with the National Guard that Gov. Gordon Persons had called in after declaring martial law, Patterson secured almost 750 indictments against the local law enforcement officers, elected officials, and organized crime elements that operated the vices.  He also successfully prosecuted the chief deputy sheriff for killing his father.

Patterson became a national celebrity, and Hollywood even made a movie about the events titled “The Phenix City Story.”  As a result, he was propelled into the governor’s office following the 1958 campaign.

His term as governor was notable for a $100 million public school building program, increased services for the aged and infirmed, and opposition to loan-sharking operations that preyed on the poor, but most historians remember it for the early events that occurred during the struggle for Civil Rights.

Yes, Gov. Patterson was controversial, as was my father early in his career, relative to the issue of segregation, but they were products of their era.  As time passed, they saw the light, walked toward it, and embraced it while becoming advocates for brotherhood and understanding.

In the end, they both got it right.

One of the finest appointments my father ever made was placing John Patterson in an open seat on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, a post he held until retiring in 1997.  His work and influence are felt on that court even to this day, and it is notable that he always preferred to be addressed as ‘Judge Patterson” rather than “Governor Patterson” after stepping down from public life.

I had the pleasure of serving with Judge Patterson for more than 20 years on the board of Lyman Ward Military Academy, and the keen insight and wisdom he brought to our proceedings were always impressive.

Following our board meetings, we would always have lunch in the mess hall with the cadets. Judge Patterson and I would sit across from each other as we reminisced and told behind-the-scenes stories about the political events and larger-than-life personalities of a by-gone era.  We were always amused that the other trustees would quietly ease their chairs closer to ours in order to eavesdrop on our conversations and get an insiders’ look at Alabama politics.

When our father passed away in 1998 at age 79, my family immediately asked Judge Patterson to deliver his eulogy at the state funeral service held in the Alabama Capitol Building, and it remains a touching memory to this day.  After sharing remarks that were all at once reflective, humorous, candid, and emotional, Judge Patterson ended his eulogy about my father by saying:

“His passing marks the end of an era in our history.  Alabama has lost its greatest son, and I have lost a dear friend.”

Those words he spoke in tribute to my father express exactly how I feel about the loss of Judge John Patterson, a kind, decent, and honorable man who loved Alabama fiercely and leaves behind a life well lived.

He will be missed.

George Wallace Jr. is the son of Alabama Govs. George and Lurleen Wallace.  He previously served two terms as Alabama State Treasurer and two terms as a member of the Alabama Public Service Commission.