Richard Stillman, 91, WWII general's aide
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 By John Pope
Richard Stillman, a retired University of New Orleans professor who spent 19 months in World War II as an aide to the mercurial Gen. George Patton, died July 15 at his New Orleans home. He was 91.
Friends found his body after Dr. Stillman didn't show up for his afternoon walk, said Thomas Stillman, his son.
Dr. Stillman, who taught at UNO from 1967 until his retirement in 1982, was a prolific author and speaker.
A frequent topic of his writings and speeches was Patton, the 3rd Army commander who was Dr. Stillman's boss when he was a young major. Every morning, he had the unenviable task of briefing Patton and other officers on his staff.
"He was such an imposing figure," Dr. Stillman said about Patton in a 1994 interview. "He just looked so sharp and played so well the role of commanding general. I was swept up with awe and respect for the man. You know, it took some mental courage to get up and speak in front of him."
Those briefings, Dr. Stillman said, were as brief as he could make them. Dr. Stillman, who had met Patton in 1939 during war games in Louisiana, was made a liaison officer and promoted to lieutenant colonel, a job that kept him shuttling between Patton and Patton's boss, Gen. Omar Bradley, carrying messages and top-secret communiqués.
Bradley, Dr. Stillman said, was as easygoing and friendly as Patton was fierce and profane.
Despite Patton's gruff exterior, Dr. Stillman said he saw the general become sick to his stomach during a tour of a concentration camp shortly after it was liberated. And he was on hand at the August 1945 news conference when Patton said the Nazis were a political party, just like the Democrats and Republicans. That gaffe cost Patton his command.
In 1994, Dr. Stillman, by then a professor emeritus, wrote a book about him: "General Patton's Timeless Leadership Principles."
"War is grim and horrible," Dr. Stillman said in the 1994 interview, "but there was something in Patton that just thrived on it. It was in his blood."
Dr. Stillman, who retired as a colonel in 1955, was born in Lansing, Mich., and earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Southern California. He did postgraduate work at Harvard University and Syracuse University, where he earned his doctorate. He taught at the NATO Defense College and Ohio University before coming to UNO.
His books covered a broad range of subjects, including guides to personal finance and small-business management, a do-it-yourself volume on homebuilding and a book about Willie, Patton's beloved English bulldog.
At UNO, he underwrote an endowed professorship in management, sponsored the indoor track at the Recreation and Fitness Center, and founded an annual public-speaking contest.
The College of Business gave Dr. Stillman its Lifetime Achievement Award, which is named for him. In May, he received the Chancellor's Medallion for Distinguished Service.
Like Patton, who competed in the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, Dr. Stillman was devoted to physical fitness. An avid runner and swimmer, he won 18 gold and two silver medals in the Senior Olympic Games between 1996 and 2002.
"He was just always very positive about everything, very enthusiastic," said Olof "Ollie" Lundberg, chairman of UNO's department of management.
Survivors include two sons, Richard Stillman II of Denver and Thomas Stillman of Centennial, Colo.; and four grandchildren.
He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. A memorial
Richard Stillman, 91, WWII general's aide- NOLA.com
Richard Stillman, 91, WWII general's aide
