Ralph B. Patterson
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Ralph B. Patterson was born on December 2, 1948 in Little Rock, AR. He was the son of Louise Heiskell Patterson and Hugh B. Patterson, Jr. and the brother of Carrick Patterson (Pat) of Little Rock, AR. His grandparents were Wilhelmina Mann Heiskell and John Netherland Heiskell and Hugh B. Patterson and Martha Patterson.
Patterson attended Little Rock public schools through junior high school. For high school, he graduated from St. Alban's School in Washington, D.C. in 1966 where he was a National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist. At St. Albans, he played football, wrestled and was a three-year starting pitcher for the varsity baseball team. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970 with a B.A. in Political Science. He was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity. He did graduate work in advertising and graphics at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y.
Patterson worked in advertising, marketing promotion, and in the newspaper business for nearly 40 years in Little Rock, Arkansas. He served as a copywriter and creative director for Cranford Johnson & Associates from 1972 through 1976. He joined the Arkansas Gazette where he worked as a reporter, copy editor and developed a popular movie review column. In 1980, he was named vice president and director of marketing services and was responsible for the development of the Gazette's advertising and promotion programs.
In 1984, he rejoined Cranford Johnson Robinson Associates as vice president and creative director and supervised the creative department during a seven-year period that saw more than a tripling of agency billings.
In 1991, he joined the Frank J. Wills advertising agency where he was senior vice president and creative director until his retirement in 2001.
Patterson's work won hundreds of local, regional and national advertising awards, including a national ADDY award, the Deutsch, Shea & Evans Award for Advertising in Public Interest and two Best of Show awards in the Arkansas Advertising Federation annual ADDY competition. After retiring, he continued to do freelance advertising and marketing, primarily pro-bono work for civic and charitable causes in Arkansas and North Carolina.
He has been active in numerous charitable, community and public service organizations and has served on a variety of Boards, including the Pulaski County United Way, the Arkansas Heart Association, the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum and was a former Member and President of the Central Arkansas Library Board.
Patterson was a long-time member of the Country Club of Little Rock, The Alotian Club in Little Rock, the Blowing Rock Country Club and the Charlotte Country Club in North Carolina. He served on the Board of the Blowing Rock Country Club for four years and served three terms on the BRCC Golf Committee, including one term as Chairman, and two terms on the BRCC Marketing Committee.
Patterson was an accomplished painter, known for his portraits, and a decent guitar player. He was a fairly good but erratic golfer having had a two-
handicap at one point and won the Country Club of Little Rock Four-Ball, the CCLR Member-Guest and was a two-time Senior Champion at the Blowing Rock Country Club in North Carolina.
Patterson has been married to the former Elizabeth Howell for 43 years. They have two married sons, Andrew (Sunita Varada), 42, an attorney with Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, and Nick (Shelby), 40, the Director of Operations at the Arkansas Academy for Educational Equity at the University of Arkansas. They have three granddaughters: Nick and Shelby's eight-year old daughter, Alice, and Andrew and Sunita's two daughters, Neena, 4, and Avni, 2.
Services celebrating the life of Ralph B. Patterson will be held at future dates in Little Rock, AR and Blowing Rock, NC.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Central Arkansas Library System or the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum.
Online condolence may be sent to the Patterson family at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com
Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service is in charge of the arrangements.