Farewell to socially conscious Bob Paddison, taught many about community

I woke up on Monday morning, Aug. 2, to a world that was profoundly changed. On Aug. 1, two days after his 98th birthday, John Robert "Bob" Paddison, my beloved father, flew off to the wild blue yonder.

When people ask me how I got started watching birds, I blame it on my parents.

There were those “long” drives from Savannah to Tybee with my sister and brother and I squabbling in the back seat of the car.

"First one to see a kingfisher gets a nickel," my dad would announce. Immediately we would turn our attention to the power lines that ran along Highway 80 on the way to Tybee. Kingfishers have a distinctive silhouette, large headed with a bushy crest and a long beak. They would perch on the wires, staring intently into the water below, or taking off with a distinctive rattling call to hover helicopter-like above the marsh.

When I walked out onto the dock on that first Monday morning in August, the first thing I heard and then saw was a belted kingfisher.

“Hey Papa,” I called out. “Glad you’re flying free.”

When I go out chasing a rare bird, I am looking for something that is unusual, unique, uncommon, surprising and unexpected. That was Bob Paddison.

Born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1923, he moved to Savannah in 1928 where he attended Charles Ellis Elementary and Savannah High School before graduating from Georgia Military Academy.

He wasn’t a tall man, but when he joined the Army Air Corps when World War II began, he discovered that being 5’ 5” was an advantage for a pilot. He trained to fly the P47, managed to arrive in Europe on the day the war ended, and did an 18-month tour of duty in Germany and France after the war. He retained a love of flying and planes throughout his life, and was thrilled when his youngest grandson became a pilot and took him flying well into his 97th year.

In 1959, we moved from Atlanta to Savannah and my dad began a 29-year stint as a banker working for the original Savannah Bank & Trust Co. During his career, he served as a senior leader there, running their branch network and retail banking operations. He enjoyed those years when banking was all about service, taking care of the customers, and contributing to the community. Everywhere I went I would hear either, “Oh, you’re Bob Paddison’s daughter,” or “You look just like your father.”

“They really know how to hurt a girl,” was his joking reply.

Did I mention his sense of humor? My dad loved to joke, to laugh, and to have fun. His “joie de vivre” was infectious.

Treating all people with dignity, respect and fairness was deeply ingrained in both my dad and my mom’s way of being, as was a commitment to education. According to former Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, “ Bob was one of the few white bankers in the Savannah community during that time who would make loans to Black people.”

Dad loaned Otis, then a young student studying for his doctorate, the money he needed to buy his first car.  When Otis needed a treasurer for his 2004 mayoral campaign, he turned to my dad, who happily accepted the call.

“Bob was truly a rare bird, noteworthy for his love of all people, and desire to be of service," Otis said recently. "He was an exceptional human being. I was glad to be able to be his friend.”

When Interviewed for the  Business Hall of Fame video done by former WTOC Creative Director Craig Harney, Otis made reference to the 1960s and ‘70s in Savannah, “This community was very, very tense and people were going into their respective corners. People like Bob and the Unitarians and some of the Episcopalians stood in the middle."

Dale Critz Sr. remarked in the video that “he was really active. He was trying to help the Savannah community out through his position.”

Craig said my parents were lifelong members of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Savannah. "Bob was key to securing a Unitarian Universalist loan to establish the Academy of Black Culture."

Oh, and lest I forget, my dad has also been an avid supporter of the United Way and the Public Library System, viewing public education as the best investment a community can make. He was instrumental in the founding of WSVH, a local station in the Georgia Public Broadcasting network, and was an active participant in the Savannah Photographic Roundtable.

He gave me my first camera, told me I had a good eye, and was inordinately proud of my articles and bird photography. I was fortunate to be able to visit “the bank of Dad” to help with the publication of both of my books.

After he retired from banking, one of the teachers at DeRenne Middle School asked him to set up a dark room and teach photography to some of the students. This was the start of his second 23-year “volunteer” career.

Katherine Gardner, the art teacher, enjoyed a special relationship with Dad.

“In all the years we worked together, I never once saw him get frustrated, angry or upset with a student, and in a middle school environment, that is remarkable.”

In 2006, the library at DeRenne Middle School was dedicated as the Bob Paddison Media Center.

Current Savannah Mayor Van Johnson served on the board of Wesley Community Centers with my dad.

“Mr. Paddison (I could never call him Bob) lovingly gave the best of his time, talent and treasure for the benefit of the generations of young people served by Wesley Community Centers of Savannah,” Van said. "He was a giant of a man and a valued friend. I want to be like him when I grow up.”

Somehow my dad also found time to go fishing, crabbing, play cribbage, and feed his birds. My mom, Phillippa, his wife of nearly 69 years, always had his back. Even with his service to the community, he always had time for her and for his four children and seven grandchildren.

He was indeed a rare bird, and he was mine. Farewell Papa and good birding!

Bird enthusiast Diana Churchill can be reached via email at dichurchbirds@gmail.com. See more photos and columns by Diana Churchill at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/.

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This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Farewell to socially conscious Bob Paddison, taught many about community