Funeral scheduled for former SC Sen. Kay Patterson

COLUMBIA — The funeral for former longtime state Sen. Kay Patterson will take place Friday afternoon, with a public viewing Thursday.

The Columbia Democrat died last Friday at age 93. He was a stalwart fighter for civil rights known for his humor during his 34 years in the Statehouse.

His surviving family, including his wife, daughter and three grandchildren, will hold a public viewing from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Palmer Memorial Chapel in Columbia. That will include a 6 p.m. ceremony by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the first international fraternal organization founded at a historically Black college, of which Patterson was a member.

Former SC Sen. Kay Patterson, a role model for generations of legislators, dies at 93

Patterson’s funeral will take place at Brookland Baptist Church in West Columbia. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m., with the ceremony following at noon. Patterson will be buried at Greenlawn Memorial Park.

Originally from Darlington County, Patterson was first elected to the state House in 1974. Ten years later, he was one of three Black legislators elected to the Senate, where he remained until retiring in 2008. As a former teacher, Patterson fought for improvements to the public education system. He also pushed year after year for legislators to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse.

Patterson was always willing to speak out about issues that mattered to him, and he brought a sense of humor to debates that didn’t detract from the seriousness of discussions, friends and colleagues said soon after his death.

“As an outspoken and fiery speaker in his practice of politics, Patterson was a moving force in promoting and effectuating change in the state of South Carolina,” his obituary reads.