Thelma Adele Patten Law was born on December 30, 1900, in Hunstville, Texas.[1][2] Patten Law's father, Mason B. Patten, encouraged her to become a physician.[2][3] Both of her parents, Mason and Pauline, were involved in Houston with the black community and her father founded the Houston chapter of the NAACP.[3] Patten Law attended Colored High School (later Booker T. Washington High School) where she graduated in 1917 as valedictorian.[4] In 1923 she graduated from Howard University with a medical degree and earned her medical license in 1924.[5] While at Howard, she was a charter member of Delta Sigma Theta, and in 1927, she was a co-founder and president of the Houston chapter.[5][4]
Patten Law set up her first practice in Houston in the Odd Fellows Temple in 1924.[6][4] Many of Patten Law's patients were indigent and she saw them in public clinics.[7] She also worked at the Maternal Health Center, which later became a Planned Parenthood clinic.[7] During her practice, Patten Law assisted in the birth of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan in 1936.[8] In the 1940s, Patten Law moved her practice to the Fourth Ward.[4] Patten Law served as a mentor to many physicians, including Catherine J. Roett.[7] She also lobbied for improved healthcare for African Americans in Houston.[5]
In 1940, Patten Law became the president of the Lone Star Medical Association.[7] In 1955, she became the first African American woman admitted to the Harris County Medical Society.[4]
Patten Law died on November 12, 1968, and was buried at Paradise North Cemetery.[4]