12/08/07

Tribute to the Late Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson (1939 - 2007)

Gilbert Earl Patterson was born in Humboldt, Tenn., on Sept. 22, 1939, a son of Mary Louise and William A. Patterson. His father led churches in Memphis and later in Detroit.

Ordained as a church elder in Detroit in 1957, Bishop Patterson attended LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis and the Detroit Bible Institute. In 1975, he founded Temple of Deliverance. After he was elected bishop, he started Cogic Charities, which has raised more than $1 million to aid victims of disasters, including Hurricane Katrina. He was also editor and publisher of Bountiful Blessings Magazine, which has 100,000 subscribers.

Bishop Patterson is survived by his wife of 40 years, the former Louise Dowdy; and three sisters, Mary Hawkins and Lee Ella Smith, both of Memphis, and Barbara Davis of Detroit.