Marlene Brantley Patterson

Marlene Brantley Patterson died April 16, 2016. She was born on November 23, 1932, in Jackson, Mississippi, to the Rev. and Mrs. Luther Taylor Brantley, Sr. Graduated from Millsaps College with a degree in education, Marlene was a gifted musician, a pianist and soloist, whose voice was in always demand for church services and weddings. She was married to the late Kenneth Levoid Patterson, a photo journalist for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. She had a long career as a devoted elementary school teacher and afterwards as the school secretary. Preceding her in untimely death were her two beloved daughters, Susan Patterson Cotton and Kimberly Patterson Fowler. Her primary focus then became her daughters’ families, providing support and special meals for her grandsons’ football teams and overseeing her granddaughter’s schedule with the Atlanta Ballet. She also became a passionate advocate for breast cancer awareness. Moving to Thomasville from Snellville, Georgia, in 2008, Mrs. Patterson quickly became active in the community as a member of First United Methodist Church, where she was a participant in the Keenagers and Circle #3. She also enjoyed her work as an Archbold Hospital volunteer and member of the Archbold Auxiliary Scholarship Committee. She continued to be an enthusiastic supporter of her local grandchildren’s many athletic and school activities. Also preceding her in death were two brothers, Luther Taylor Brantley, Jr. and Rudolph Malcolm Brantley. She is survived by a brother, Andrew Brownell Brantley, and his wife Jean, of Lucedale, Mississippi; her son, Dr. Gregory Kenneth Patterson, along with his wife, Frances Larson Patterson, of Thomasville; eight grandchildren, Brittany Cotton Swain and her husband Michael Dru Swain, Jr., of Niceville, Florida; Christopher Michael Fowler, Meghan Taylor Fowler, Matthew Kenneth Fowler, Peyton Elizabeth Patterson, Gregory Taylor Patterson, Abigail Katherine Patterson, and Sarah Frances Patterson; and two great-grandchildren, Susan Savannah Swain and Jackson Dru Swain; her son-in-law, Michael Robert Fowler, of Snellville; and several nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to First United Methodist Church of Thomasville or to the Breast Cancer Resource Fund at Lewis Hall Singletary Oncology Center/Archbold Foundation. A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church on Thursday, April 21, at 1:30 p.m. Family will receive friends in Snellville on Friday, April 22, from 5:30p.m.-8:30p.m. at Tom M. Wages Snellville Chapel, with interment on Saturday, April 23, at Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs at 12:30p.m.