H. Mallory Privett, Jr.

Published 7:04 pm Tuesday, December 29, 2015

H. Mallory Privett, Jr., age 79, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, passed away on Dec. 26, 2015, from complications resulting from Myelofibrosis (cancer of the bone marrow) and Leukemia. He previously successfully survived colon cancer and prostate cancer, but, although he fought hard, these latest cancers took his life. Mallory is survived by his wife Margaret “Boo” Privett, his sister Sue Parrent Whatley of Opelika; his brother Bill Privett (wife Pam) of Fairhope; three sons, Mal (wife Bobbye Sue) of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Dave (wife Joyce) of Yorktown, Virginia, and Robert (wife Leigh Ann) of Wesley Chapel, Florida; twelve grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Mallory was born and raised in Selma. He attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and graduated in 1958 with a BS in mechanical engineering. Immediately after graduation, he came to Palm Beach County and began working at Pratt & Whitney. He remained a resident of Palm Beach County since 1958 except for a three year tour of duty in the U.S. Navy where he served as the engineering officer on the destroyer U.S. O’Hare, DDR 889. He was a member of the North Palm Beach Village Council from 1969 until 1974, serving as mayor from 1971 until 1974.

After a successful career in engineering at Pratt & Whitney, he retired in 1992. He then became a golf volunteer for over 23 years. It was something he thoroughly enjoyed and the golf community greatly benefited. He was in charge of running hundreds of Florida State Golf Association and United States Golf Association local qualifiers. He was a member of the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship Committee and served as a rules official at over 30 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, and U.S. Amateur. He was adept at recruiting, organizing, and training volunteers. He served as the overall volunteer chairman for 24 professional tour events (PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour, and LPGA Tour) and numerous other golf events in southeast Florida. He served as president of the Florida State Golf Association in 2002 and 2003, and as a member of the board of directors for many years, He was inducted into the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame in 2015, the Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Palm Beach County Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2007. He was awarded the FSGA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

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Graveside services will be Saturday, January 2, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in New Live Oak Cemetery with Lawrence Brown-Service Funeral Home directing. The family will receive friends and guests at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall from 1 -1:45 p.m.

No flowers, please. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Florida State Golf Association Future of Golf Foundation.