It is with deep regret that we share the news of the passing of Patricia Champion Frist.
Patricia Champion Frist (Trisha) was born September 28, 1939, in Ridgely, TN and died January 05, 2021 surrounded by her beloved family. As the matriarch of the Thomas Frist Jr. family, she always put the needs of family, friends and the community before her own. Always at the center of her family’s activities, she achieved equal success in business, charitable and philanthropic endeavors.
Mrs. Frist moved to Nashville in 1951 as a 6th grader. She attended Stokes Elementary School and Hillsboro High School. At Hillsboro, she was a cheerleader and class president. In 1957 while representing Hillsboro High School, she was chosen Miss Nashville High School.
She attended Vanderbilt University from 1957-1961 where she was president of Pi Beta Phi sorority (1958), a cheerleader (1959-1961) and elected Miss Vanderbilt in 1960. While representing Vanderbilt, she was selected Miss National Football Queen in Berkeley, CA in 1959.
After graduating from Vanderbilt in 1961 with a BA degree in English and history, she married Thomas F. Frist Jr. and taught school in Nashville and St. Louis through 1964.
In 1965, she gave birth to their first child, Patricia “Trisha”, in St. Louis where her husband was studying at Washington University School of Medicine. Thomas Frist III was born at Warner Robins Air Force Base, GA in 1968 followed by William Robert Frist in 1969 in Nashville, TN.
Throughout their 60 year marriage, Mrs. Frist was an equal partner in all their endeavors including the family creation of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) in 1968 and The HCA Foundation in 1982. This life-long partnership included many charitable, civic and philanthropic interests. Mrs. Frist was the first woman to serve on the board of SunTrust Bank in Atlanta. She also served on the boards of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, SunTrust Bank Nashville, Ensworth School and The Frist Foundation.
Mrs. Frist served as Chairman of the Symphony Ball and was on the Symphony’s Executive Committee. She received numerous awards including the United Way’s Women’s Initiative Spirit of Giving Award and Cheekwood’s Swan Ball Swan Award.
Alongside her husband, Dr. and Mrs. Frist were major contributors to the Nashville Zoo, Second Harvest Food Bank, Harvard Business School, Princeton’s Frist Campus Center, Cheekwood’s Frist Learning Center, Ensworth School, Harpeth Hall and Currey Ingram Academy. Through their efforts, scholarship funds were established at Harvard Business School, Washington University and Currey Ingram Academy. The Nashville Chamber of Commerce awarded the couple the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2003.
Mrs. Frist was instrumental in the founding of the Frist Art Museum, United Way’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society, the Thomas F. Frist Centennial Sportsplex, Frist Capital Partners, the YMCA Frist Teen Center in Green Hills, the Patricia Champion Frist Hall at Vanderbilt University’s School of Nursing and the Dorothy Cate Frist Hall at Harpeth Hall School and the Frist Campus at Ensworth School.
Mrs. Frist was preceded in death by her parents, Garland Ryals and Ogden Harrington Champion. Survivors include her husband, Thomas F. Frist Jr., children Patricia Frist Elcan (Charles “Chuck”), Thomas F. Frist III (Julie), William Robert Frist (Jennifer) and grandchildren and pallbearers Lauren Elcan, Cate Elcan, Carrington Elcan, Caroline Frist, Annabel Frist, Thomas Frist IV, Walker Frist, Jacqueline Frist and Sophia Frist.
Family only services will be held privately and a larger memorial celebration of her life will take place a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for charitable donations please be donated to the Frist Art Museum or a charity of your choosing.
