Palmer Trinity School

BORN IN DETROIT, MICHIGAN, PAT MOVED TO SOUTH FLORIDA WITH HER MOM, DAD AND BROTHER WHEN SHE WAS ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD. Settling in Coral Gables, Pat and her brother, Bill Ussery, Jr., went to Coral Gables Elementary, Ponce De Leon Junior High School and later, Coral Gables Senior High School. "We lived in the same small, cozy house all through our school years," Pat recalls. "Those days were truly the best times in the best place." On the opposite coast, John Brockway— who would later become Pat's husband—was born in Los Angeles, California, where his dad worked for Pan American World Airways. His dad was transferred to Miami when John was in elementary school, and their family also settled in Coral Gables. Pat met John at Coral Gables Senior High School, and they began dating at the end of their junior year. After graduation, John moved back to California with his family, and Pat went to the University of Florida and became a member of the Delta Gamma sorority. Pat and John were married in 1959, moving to California for a year, and returned to Miami in 1960 to work for Pat's father and begin raising a family. While in Detroit, Pat's father, Bill Ussery, was the Used Car Manager for Bert Baker, one of the largest used automobile companies in the nation, located on the famous "Automobile Row"—Livernois Avenue. Settling in the historic area of Coral Gables—just three blocks from "the Trail," as 8th Street was called—Bill invested in used car lots, eventually buying into the Studebaker dealership in 1953, where he partnered with Tom Caldwell Studebaker to form Caldwell – Ussery Studebaker. Bill eventually bought out Mr. Caldwell to create Bill Ussery Motors, and in 1957, it became one of only two dealerships in the entire United States—the other in Portland, Oregon—to take on the MercedesBenz franchise. Also selling Renault, MG and Austin Healy vehicles, Bill Ussery Motors became exclusively Mercedes-Benz Dealers in 1960. In 1972, Pat and John bought the dealership from Pat's father. Since then, it has expanded multiple times, and currently sits in a brand new facility across the street from the original dealership. After 34 years of ownership, Pat and John sold Bill Ussery Motors to their son, Bob Brockway '82, and his wife, Paula, in 2006 and it remains in their care today. "I am very proud of our dealership and its history," Pat says. "Family has always been very important to us, and our main goal has always been to treat our employees like family. I believe we continue to do that, and that our customers benefit from that family feeling." involvement in Palmer Trinity School first began in 1978, when they began searching for a private school for their two youngest children, Bob and Beth. "We had enrolled all four of our children in the Miami-Dade County Public School System, but over the years, we became disenchanted with many aspects of it," Pat recalls. "Our very good friends, Peter and Yiska Moser, had two sons enrolled at Palmer, Laurence '80 and Stephen '76. Palmer was only five years old when Bob and Beth became students in 1978, but we were very impressed with its administrative staff and faculty. There was only one building and several pods on a large piece of property—in the middle of nowhere—but we were all growing together, and it was a very exciting time." Over the years, Pat and John raised four beautiful children—two girls and two boys: Brenda, John III, Bob '82 and Beth '85. Pat and John's Pat Ussery and John Brockway as Coral Gables High School seniors in 1956 WITH A GROWING SCHOOL CAME MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED, AND PAT AND JOHN WERE THERE TO HELP WHEREVER IT WAS NEEDED. Serving as a Palmer School Board Beth (Brockway) Serrate '85 member from 1979-1983, John was there to see the original Activities Building—now home to our gym, Athletics and Business offices— completely funded and built. He watched their beloved Head of School, Tex Warrington, retire; saw Robert "Bob" Yarbrough become the Interim Head, and was there when the following Head W I N T E R 2 0 1 2 / 1 3 19

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