PATRICIA SKIPPER BIOGRAPHY
Author Patricia Skipper began her journey at Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital, Oceanside, California, where she was born. Her parents, Patricia’s grandparents emigrated from Sicily in 1914 to New York and never left the city.
As a Marine Corps brat, she found herself frequently moving across the United States. Patricia’s father had fought in WWII and the Korean War. He retired in South Carolina after 21 years in the military.
Early on in her years, Patricia attended Divine Redeemer Catholic grammar school and Bishop England High School in downtown Charleston on Calhoun Street.
There, Rednecks called Catholics “Fish Eaters.”
Every week, they placed rotten fish in the hands of the Mother Mary statue in front of the school. Patricia remembers the nuns having them put the decaying fish in the trash and washing Mary’s hands until they were spotless.
Every basketball and football game had the opposing teams screaming, “Beat the damn fish eaters.”
Mary, her mother, on the other hand, was from New York City. She witnessed the treatment of people based on the color of their skin, which appalled her. She also witnessed the discrimination of the Martello family as they migrated to Ellis Island from Italy; this was a daily practice.