Oct. 25, 2012
A great friend and benefactor to the University of New Mexico and the UNM Athletics Department, Patty Olliges passed away Oct. 12 at her home in Las Vegas, Nev. She was 74.
Most prominently, Olliges provided funding for construction of the Lobo men’s and women’s golf offices at the UNM Championship Golf Course. The Patty Howard Golf Complex was dedicated in September of 2000.
“I just want to give back to the University that gave me so much,” Olliges said at the dedication. “UNM gave me an education and a lot of good memories.”
An Albuquerque native who attended Highland High School and was a 1961 graduate of UNM, Patty Howard Olliges attended the University when there was no women’s golf team. So, she practiced with the men’s team, coached by Dick McGuire. She played in the 1957 William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, a co-ed tournament at the time, which McGuire started in 1955.
Olliges credited McGuire with her becoming such an avid golfer.
“I feel fortunate to have gotten to know Patty,” said Paul Krebs, UNM Vice-President for Athletics. “She was a passionate person who had a strong affinity for Albuquerque and Lobo athletics, specifically our golf programs. She made a difference for our student-athletes. Her unfiltered opinions about Lobo athletics made us better.”
“Patty was a great friend to the Lobo golf program and the University of New Mexico as a whole,” said UNM head women’s golf coach Jill Trujillo. “She cheered us on even when her health was in decline and was always happy to see us. It is a loss we will feel for a long time.”
“You couldn’t find a stronger, more generous supporter of Lobo athletics and our golf programs than Patty Olliges,” said UNM head men’s golf coach Glen Millican. “Patty was a great alum and she meant a great deal to the University of New Mexico. We will be forever grateful to her and her family for the support they shared with our programs.”