Patricia Beatty

ABOUT JOHN AND PATRICIA BEATTY Both John and Patricia Beatty were born in Portland, Oregon, and went to Reed College there. After graduation Mrs. Beatty studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, and Dr. Beatty received his M.A. from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from the University of Washington. He was a professor at the University of California, where he taught English history, specializing in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Beattys were married in 1950 and later lived in Wilmington, Delaware, and London, England. Dr. Beatty served in the United States Army in World War II, in the European Theater. He held both the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals, as well as the Combat Infantryman's Badge. Mrs. Beatty taught high school English and history and also held a position as a science and technical librarian. She taught Writing Fiction for Children in the Extension Department of the University of California, Los Angeles. A prolific writer, she went on to publish numerous novels after the death of Mr. Beatty in 1975. Mrs. Beatty died in 1991. An avid reader all her life, Patricia felt that, "What a young person reads becomes part of his or her mental luggage forever! This is the learning time, short but vital to the future adult. That mental luggage deserves to be filled with the best stuff only, not pap. It may have a long, long way to go." John and Patricia were great admirers of California and its history, establishing the John and Patricia Beatty Award, which is given annually to honor the book that best promotes an awareness of California and its people. John and Patricia Beatty are survived by their daughter, Alexandra Beatty, who now lives in Oregon.