Born: September 14, 1898 (Dingess, Mingo, West Virginia]
Died: July 3, 1989 (Beckley, Raleigh, West Virginia]
Education:
- A.B. West Virginia Wesleyan College (1920)
- Post-Graduate at Carnegie Institute of Technology (Now Carnegie Mellon)
- Honorary L.L.D. from West Virginia University (1949)
- Honorary L.L.D. from West Virginia Wesleyan
Occupation:
- Automobile Dealer, Real Estate in Mount Hope
- Sheriff of Fayette County, West Virginia 1941-1945
- Executive Assistant for Clarence W. Meadows, 22nd Governor of WV (1945-1948)
- 23rd Governor of West Virginia (1949-1953)
- President of the Raleigh County Bank (Beckley, WV) 1959
Where he lived:
- Mount Hope, WV
- Charleston, WV
Years Served: 1941-1942; 1949-1971
Special Positions:
- Vice President 1953-1954
- Trustee Emeritus 1972-1989
Committees:
- Alumni Relations 1948-1959 (1947-1949 served as alumnus, not as Trustee)
- Buildings and Grounds 1942-1943
- Investment 1953-1959
- Nominations 1948-1953
- Policy and Planning 1950-1953
- Public Relations and Nominations 1959-1960
Notes:
- Majored in usiness and Political Science
- was a member of the Student Army Trainng Corp.
- 1st Sergeant in the West Virginia National Guard
- After the War, he was top sergeant of Company E, 150th Infantry, at Mt. Hope
- 1932 lost both legs below the knee in a hunting accident
- Actively involved with the development and building of the West Virginia Turnpike
- Participated in the dedication of the New River Gorge Bridge, along with Governor Jay Rockefeller and former governors Hulett Smith and Arch Moore, Jr.
- Best remembered for his decision to locate the first Medical School in Morgantown at WVU rather than in a more central location. Patteson Drive in Morgantown is named in his honor.
Sources:
- Catalog: 1942; 1949 through 1988-1990
- Canfield, Jack “Okey L. Patteson.” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia. 16 May 2016. Web. 10 February 2018.
- Morgan, J.C. (1960) West Virginia Governors.
- WVEXp: The West Virginia Cyclopedia