PHOTO / NINA THORNTON
Some members of the family of Pat and Pat Cobb join Craig Johnson, author of the “Longmire” books, at the 2016 H. Louise and H.E. “Ed” Cobb Speaker Series event. The group included, from left, the couple’s son and daughter-in-law Hannah and Alex Cobb; Pat’s brother Victor Cobb; Pat and Pat Cobb; “Longmire” author Craig Johnson; and the couple’s daughter-in-law and grandson, Meagan and Henry Cobb.
“OSU is like a big family, and I know that’s said over and over again, but it’s really true.” — Patricia Cobb School. Patricia worked for a local doctor and gerontological researcher, Donald Balaban, who became a good friend of theirs. In fact, he exemplified the kind of life they wanted to lead. “As you move through this life, you run into special people who help you and inspire you to help others,” Patrick says. “He was worried these two Okies wouldn’t make it in Philadelphia. He hired me to work on his old house and babysit his kids, and once he sent us both to deliver a grant request for him in D.C.” Patricia adds, “You find yourself wanting to pay it forward because he really did take very good care of us, developing not only a professional relationship but a personal one as well. He is one reason that we love the idea of helping young people. When you have the experience of people helping you, you find yourself wanting to do that even more.” After Patrick completed his MBA, he and Patricia moved to San Francisco for three years. Their first son, Aaron, was born there in 1979.
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“My mom and dad came to meet Aaron shortly after he was born, and it wasn’t long after that my dad decided he desperately needed me back helping him with Cobb Oil and Gas Company,” Patrick says. “He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, so we put our house up for sale and moved back to Oklahoma.” Their other two sons — Alex and Austin — were both born in Tulsa, where today Patrick is president of Broken Arrow Royalty Company and co-manages Kolding Oil and Gas with Alex. Aaron and Alex both graduated from OSU’s Stillwater campus, while Austin’s degree is from the OSU Institute of Technology. Patricia and Patrick Cobb met during their college days and travel the world together including a trip to Iceland.
“We consider ourselves very openminded, because Aaron is married to an OU graduate,” Patrick jokes. Patrick and Patricia have found their love for OSU has increased over time. “When you meet and marry someone, you don’t realize how some of your commonalities are going to materialize,” Patricia says. “We obviously both had great experiences at OSU, but I don’t think either of us could foresee that bond would be something that would not just always be there but grow and develop. We raised our kids going to Stillwater. We had great times with Patrick’s parents — three generations of us going over there for sports and gatherings.