Changes

==Personal life==

==Personal life==

Brister was born to  Brown and Thelma Christopher Phillips in LaGrange in Troup County in western [[Georgia]] across the [[Alabama]] state line.<ref name=bristerobit/> Involved in various business enterprises over the years, Brister was for a time the chief executive officer and chairman of the trustees of Orion College, a James Kirk diploma mill which operated in Mandeville from 1997 to 2002.<ref name=fhfb/>

Born in LaGrange in Troup County in western [[Georgia]], Brister was one of six children of Brown and Thelma Christopher Phillips.<ref name=bristerobit/> Involved in various business enterprises over the years, Brister was for a time the chief executive officer and chairman of the trustees of Orion College, a James Kirk diploma mill which operated in Mandeville from 1997 to 2002.<ref name=fhfb/>

Brister was married to Joseph Stanley "Joe" Brister, Jr. (1933-2017), a New Orleans native who established Brister-Stephens, Inc., an air conditioning and heating company, of which she was the former vice president.  Her children from a previous marriage are Jill Beck Heebe, Matthew Beck, Mark Beck, Kenneth Beck, and stepson, Steven Clark Beck (1962-2010) of Destrehan in St. Charles Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tributes.com/show/Steven-Brister-88039253|title=Steven Brister obituary|publisher=Tributes.com|accessdate=February 4, 2020}}</ref><ref name=wwltv>{{cite web|url=https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/northshore/ex-st-tammany-parish-president-pat-brister-has-died/289-2cb82444-c457-4aa7-9b15-b775f45dae75|title=Former St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister has died: "Parish President Brister was a role model, mentor, and trailblazer for women in Louisiana politics," a family spokesperson said.|publisher=WWL-TV ([[CBS]]) in [[New Orleans]]|author=Dominic Massa|date=February 3, 2020|accessdate=February 4, 2020}}</ref>

Brister was married to Joseph Stanley "Joe" Brister, Jr. (1933-2017), a New Orleans native who established Brister-Stephens, Inc., an air conditioning and heating company, of which she was the former vice president.  Her children from a previous marriage are Jill Beck Heebe, Matthew Beck, Mark Beck, Kenneth Beck, and stepson, Steven Clark Beck (1962-2010) of Destrehan in St. Charles Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tributes.com/show/Steven-Brister-88039253|title=Steven Brister obituary|publisher=Tributes.com|accessdate=February 4, 2020}}</ref><ref name=wwltv>{{cite web|url=https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/northshore/ex-st-tammany-parish-president-pat-brister-has-died/289-2cb82444-c457-4aa7-9b15-b775f45dae75|title=Former St. Tammany Parish President Pat Brister has died: "Parish President Brister was a role model, mentor, and trailblazer for women in Louisiana politics," a family spokesperson said.|publisher=WWL-TV ([[CBS]]) in [[New Orleans]]|author=Dominic Massa|date=February 3, 2020|accessdate=February 4, 2020}}</ref>