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Patricia Altschul made it a priority to dedicate a significant portion of her latest memoir to her late butler, Michael Kelcourse.
“He was truly like family,” Altschul, 84, shared exclusively with Us Weekly during the promotion of her memoir, Eat, Drink, and Remarry: Memories from a Lifetime of Art, Class, and Southern Charm, which hit the shelves on Tuesday, November 11.
“Michael was not only a professional in every sense, but also felt like a part of our family,” she explained. “He lived here and was with us nearly every day. Even on his days off, he often preferred staying in, cooking dinner, or playing with the dogs rather than going out.”
In October 2024, Altschul shared the news of Kelcourse’s passing with a heartfelt Instagram tribute. His death occurred several years following a rare acute spinal stroke he suffered in February 2021.
“Honoring him was important to me,” she told Us. “Michael was by my side for 18 years, which is a significant part of my life.”
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Altschul recalled hiring Kelcourse in 2004, after the death of his former boss, who she described as “an ancient dowager who maintained an enormous estate” in New York.
“We met, and I liked everything about him,” she wrote, revealing that Kelcourse was her companion when she was looking at new properties, including Altschul’s iconic Charleston mansion. When Southern Charm premiered in 2014, Kelcourse became a breakout star.
“Michael became the resident expert on cocktails and everything domestic, and so many fans wrote to him for his housekeeping advice that we had to incorporate an ‘Ask Michael’ button on my website,” Altschul recalled.
She also made it clear that they never had a romantic relationship.
“I have trouble writing the words. Did I ever have a romantic relationship with Michael? No … God, no,” Altschul shared. “The relationship between an employer and a butler is completely professional and built on trust and mutual respect. Period. Please don’t ask again.”
All joking aside, Altschul got real when she recalled the morning that Kelcourse had his stroke in her book.
“As he fell to the floor, he pulled the phone down with him and managed to press the ‘All page’ button. ‘Call an ambulance,’ he said into the speaker. ‘I’m having a stroke,’” she wrote. “I was asleep upstairs but woke up when I heard his panicked voice and immediately dialed 911.”
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Altschul’s son, Whitney Sudler-Smith, “raced” to Kelcourse’s room and “put a pillow under his head” until the ambulance arrived. The spinal cord stroke left him paralyzed.
“The news of his condition — and the terrible uncertainty of his future — was devastating,” she wrote.
Kelcourse moved to a full-time care facility in Florida to be “close to his family” in the years preceding his death.
“Wonderful, dedicated, kind, and exceptional-these were the words people used to describe Michael,” she wrote. “He was all that and so much more.”
Eat, Drink and Remarry is out now.