BIO

Billy Wayne Patterson and Barbara Rose Patterson were wonderful parents to our founder, Dr. Gwendolyn Patterson Cobbs, and encouraged her to pursue her love of science. Join us as we honor them by continuing a legacy of education at Kingdom Healthcare Center. 

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Mr. Billy W. Patterson is a retired electronics manufacturing professional whose long career in electronics began with a tour of duty in the U.S. Army. There he studied the repair and maintenance of electronic navigation and communication equipment used in helicopters and small planes. Graduating at the top of his class he was soon assigned to a team in Korea that was tasked with maintaining all of the navigation and communication equipment for a helicopter company there.

 

After his military service, he studied electrical engineering at The Pennsylvania State University and graduated from of the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Technology Management. He worked for several years at Control Data Corporation, a large computer manufacturing company, where he worked in a number of engineering and management positions, rising to the position of Director of Manufacturing for one of their local divisions and being selected along the way for an Employee Sustained Excellence Award as part of the corporation’s prestigious Great Performers Program.

 

He has held positions in electronic manufacturing management and engineering for a number of companies culminating in his promotion to Vice-President of Manufacturing at Racal Communications, a Washington, DC area company where he was instrumental in helping the company win and deliver vital contracts which resulted in its survival and ongoing success.

 

After his career in manufacturing, he also served as Director of Facility Service Operations for the Washington National Cathedral where he was in charge of the technical teams responsible for the care of the Cathedral, its three independent schools, and its several satellite properties.

 

Mrs. Barbara Ann Rose Patterson was a lifelong educator and spent many years teaching learning disabled children.  She later earned a college degree in early childhood education from Bloomsburg State College and a master’s degree in Counseling from Trinity University in Washington, D.C.  She would then go on the become the Executive Director of the Black Student Fund in Washington DC which offered financial support to K-12 African American children who had been accepted into several Washington area independent schools.  She was Washingtonian of the Year and a scholarship was established in her honor at the prestigious Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.  She was a fierce defender of and a tenacious advocate for her students. Barbara sadly passed away in January of 2018 and is sorely missed.  

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We at Kingdom Healthcare Center would like to honor both of them for their many successes despite many years of struggle.  We would like to provide mentors and volunteer opportunities to any students in need of assistance in pursuing their careers, especially those desiring to pursue studies in medicine, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.