Phillip Patiño, a retired coach, teacher and alumnus who founded a Fresno State program to inspire young Latino males, died Saturday, April 28. He was 84.

Mr. Patiño founded the annual Si Se Puede Hispanic male conference with Fresno State’s University Outreach Services office to provide information and inspiration to Latino high school boys. He also supervised student teachers at Fresno State’s Kremen School of Education and Human Development for 10 years following his 1991 retirement.

Frances Peña, director of Outreach Services who worked with him to establish the program, said Mr. Patiño was an avid fan of Fresno State Bulldogs sports. His leadership, she added, “was instrumental in helping his alma mater fulfill its goals of diversity, always encouraging Latino youth and their parents to pursue opportunities available to them.”

She said he was a hard-working partner who effectively used his vast experience in K-12 schools throughout the central San Joaquin Valley to build bridges for youth to Fresno State and college in general.

Mr. Patiño was active in the Fresno State Alumni Association, serving on the boards of the Chicano and Kremen Education chapters.

In August, the Chicano Alumni honored Mr. Patiño with its 2011 Chicano Alumni Legacy Builder, recognizing Fresno State alumni who have made significant contributions to the Chicano experience at the university and to the community.

Manuel Olgin, founder and past president of Chicano Alumni and a friend for 45 years, said Mr. Patiño “was recognized for his extensive and outstanding service to generations of students at every level of education during his 40 years of teaching and administering educational programs in the San Joaquin Valley.”

They became acquainted when Olgin was a student at Hoover High School in Fresno when Mr. Patiño was a teacher.

Olgin said Mr. Patiño taught, supervised, and coached generations of Fresno State students who are now teachers in the San Joaquin Valley. That came after his 1991 retirement from the Fresno Unified School District and continued for another 17 years at his alma mater’s Kremen School, where he worked with student teachers and interns until his retirement in 2008.

Mr. Patiño earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish in 1949. Following two years of Army service, he taught Spanish at Woodlake Elementary, Woodlake High and Fowler High schools and also coached varsity basketball. He then moved to the Fresno Unified School District where his career in teaching and administration took him through several elementary, middle and high schools.

His community service included the Airport Optimist Club of Fresno and the Association of Mexican American Educators.

Mr. Patiño is survived by his wife, Shirley, their five daughters and a son and 15 grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Friday, May 4, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church (2140 N. Cedar Ave.) in Fresno. Interment follows at St. Peter’s Cemetery (264 N. Blythe Ave.).

The family asks that remembrances be made in Mr. Patiño’s name to the Association of Mexican American Educators Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 529, Fresno, CA 93709.

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