Lillie Patterson, a retired Baltimore public school teacher and administrator whose love of writing and keen storytelling skills led her to write 16 books geared toward children, died Thursday of cancer at her West Baltimore home.

A West Baltimore resident for more than 50 years, Ms. Patterson, 82, wrote mostly biographies, historical accounts and books of poetry. Her topics included the lives of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.

She also wrote several works of fiction. Most of her works were aimed at youngsters ages 7 to 12. Her fictional characters were vivid, and the stories had morals.

"She was very, very talented, and she was especially creative," said Elsie Lawson, a former city school librarian and a friend for about 35 years who worked with her when Ms. Patterson served as a school library specialist.

"She had a love of words -- playing with words, listening to words, making up words and using words," she said.

Ms. Patterson worked in city schools as a teacher, librarian and library services specialist from 1949 until she retired in 1994.

Her first book, a historical account of the creation of the Statue of Liberty, "Meet Miss Liberty," was published in 1962. Her last book, "David: The Story of a King," was published in 1985.

"She was always a very humble person. She never talked about her books until you invited her into your school to talk about them," said Pamela Johnson, a librarian at Walbrook High School who knew Ms. Patterson for 17 years.

Ms. Patterson's love of reading, writing and storytelling began when she was a child in Hilton Head, S.C. She listened to her grandmother's whimsical tales of adventure and intrigue.

"I listened to my grandmother's words, and I listened to the lyrics and the poems, and I said, 'When I grow up, I'm going to write books.' That was the big dream for the poor black girl on the isolated island," she said during an interview with The Evening Sun in 1985.

"The writing was always like something I was doing as a hobby and getting paid for. I just enjoyed it so much. I think of myself as an educator who happens to write. It's an extension of my need to educate," she said.

Ms. Patterson received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Hampton University in Hampton, Va., in the 1940s and a graduate degree in library services from Catholic University in Washington in the 1950s. She also studied at the Johns Hopkins University and New York University.

For her work, she received the Living Maker of Negro History Award in 1963 from the Iota Phi Lambda sorority, the Professional Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs in Baltimore, and the Helen Keating Award in 1985 from the national Church and Synagogue Library Association.

Until she retired, Ms. Patterson also frequently went to schools to talk about writing.

"She was telling children's stories to high school students, and they were in awe," Ms. Lawson said.

A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. tomorrow at March Funeral Home, 4300 Wabash Ave. Burial will be in Hilton Head.

Ms. Patterson is survived by a brother, Alexander Patterson Jr., and two sisters, Alexandria Anne Patterson and Mary Patterson Houston, all of Hilton Head.