People always knew where Elbert Earl Patton Jr. stood, whether in business or politics.
"His actions followed his beliefs," said Robert Hall, past president of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and former Rotary International district governor.
Mr. Patton, 83, a fixture in metro Atlanta's business, civic and political circles, died on Wednesday after a tornado struck his lakefront home in Rabun County.
He cherished his time spent on the lake, where he could get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and camped as a boy, his daughter, Louise Pritchard of Virginia, said. Mr. Patton called it "as close to heaven as you can get on earth, and had often expressed his desire to be at Lake Burton when his “time came.”
The family has received condolences from around the world, notably China, where he had been involved in several business ventures, Mr. Patton's daughter said. She called her father a "true Southern gentleman."
"He was a dreamer, a very positive individual and tenacious as hell," said Dick Stormont, a longtime friend and former neighbor. "He always believed that anything was possible."
A service for Mr. Patton will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Bogg's Mountain Humane Shelter.
Mr. Patton served with the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce and was a founder of Cobb Bank and Trust Co. Additionally, he served on committees for the 1996 Olympics and Super Bowl XXVIII in Atlanta.
He was also a key player in boosting the metro area's growing economy. His business career included banking, real estate and hotel development. He also served as former chairman of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Along the way, he helped groom other rising business leaders, among them Spurgeon Richardson, who served as Six Flags Over Georgia president and ACVB president and chief executive.
"There are givers and takers in life," Mr. Richardson said. "Earl Patton was a giver in every sense of the word."
The two met when Richardson worked at Six Flags.
"[Patton] had an unbelievable role in my life," Richardson said. "He introduced me to the right people and helped me build relationships throughout metro Atlanta. More importantly, though, he was a friend and mentor and will be greatly missed by me."
Mr. Patton was interested in politics. A native Atlantan, he was a former Republican state senator when it wasn't the most popular political party in Georgia. "He was leading the way when being a Republican politician wasn't the thing to do," Hall said. "He didn't mind standing out. You always knew where Earl was and what he stood for."
He attended North Fulton High School and graduated from Georgia Tech in 1950. He served in both the Navy and Air Force.
“He was happiest when he was surrounded by his family, especially his granddaughters whom he adored," said Mary Patton, his wife of 62 years. "He made everyone feel special."
Additional survivors included sons Tom Patton and Rick Patton of Atlanta, and eight granddaughters.
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