By MAKAYLA SYKES
ATLANTA — Brittany Price, 27, spoke at the Georgia House of Representatives about her late husband Patrick Price, 30, who passed away last year on Sept. 29 of unknown causes.
“My husband was a hero not only because he served the state of Georgia tirelessly, just like many of you, but my husband was a hero in his own home,” said Price. She now speaks for her husband at various engagements and mothers their three sons, Peyton Keller, Evan Patrick and Nathan Jude.
At the time of his death, former Kennesaw State University student Patrick Price served as the strategic planning initiatives and innovations coordinator for the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. He was also a mandated peace officer and served as a legislative liaison.
Brittany Price said her husband’s life mission was to identify inmates who serve long sentences for relatively minor drug offenses. Under new legislation, many inmates are eligible for early release from prison. Patrick Price was the officer who worked to release these imates from prison.
On Nov. 3 of last year, a library was a dedicated in memory of Patrick Price from the State Board of Pardons and Parole, along with a resolution from the Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
“It was an honor to be there. Patrick used to just love to read those books and find information,” Brittany Price said.
The law library is now formally called the Patrick K. Price Memorial Law Library.
“(Patrick) had the craziest schedule, but he still made time with me and with the Lord and his boys,” she said. “He spent tons of time mentoring and investing in younger men, too, and just challenging them to walk closely with the Lord. He made a mark on this world not because he was the President of the United States or because he had some huge title, but because he was intentional and purposeful with everything and everyone he had.”
The morning of Patrick Price’s death felt like just another day, she recalled.
“He kissed me goodbye and said, ‘I love you, babe. I’ll see you soon.’”
Patrick Price later passed out in his office and was found by a co-worker.
“I went to Bible study like normal,” said Brittany Price. “Then my phone rang during Bible study. And then it rang again, and God just impressed upon my heart that something was wrong with Patrick. I answered and the police said, ‘Patrick is sick and he has fallen. We’re coming to get you.’”
Brittany Price was rushed to Grady Hospital where she was reunited with her family.
“I ran just as fast I could,” she said. “There were just people everywhere, and it was raining. They rushed me through security, and I walked into a big hallway of people, and I just knew then.
“They sat me down in the hallway and said, ‘Patrick is gone.’ I started tearing up and said, ‘The Lord is good. He gives and takes away.”
A friend of the Price family, Katharine Hurlburt, said, “The whole thing just made heaven more real.
“Any hurting that you go through can seem senseless, but if you know God and you know his plan and you know the truths about his character then suffering is not pointless.”
Brittany Price encourages young people to self-check where they are in life.
“Young people just don’t think that they can die any day,” she said. “They think that they have their whole life but for them to hear about a 30-year-old man who was perfectly healthy just die, they start to realize that this life is but a vapor.”
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