Robert Roy Patterson's Obituary
Robert Roy “Bob” Patterson, aged 79, passed away on May 8, 2023 in Tavares, Florida after a brief illness. Bob was born on October 1, 1943 in Rotterdam, New York to the late Amy (Scott Steuart) Patterson and Harold Burt “Pat” Patterson. By all accounts, Bob was a lively child and enjoyed singing at St. George’s Episcopal Church, learning French, and playing trumpet. He graduated from Draper High School in 1961 and attended the College of Forestry at Syracuse University. He finished his degree at Hudson Valley Community College in 1966 and then relocated to Massachusetts to start his career as a lab chemist for the plastics division of Monsanto (later Solutia), where he also served in the U.S. Army Reserves as an Army Medic (1967-1973). These busy years were also the first of his marriage: Bob married Cheryl Howe in 1967 and they soon made their home in Hampden, where they raised their two daughters.
An inquisitive person who loved history, Bob was able to pursue his many interests after his retirement in 2000. Bob enjoyed traveling and had many memorable trips with his wife and family. He also loved to work on home improvement projects, and volunteered in the renovation of his home church, Hampden Federated Community Church. Bob was a passionate researcher of his family history, an aficionado of flight simulators and an enthusiast of a wide variety of music. Throughout his life, he loved to make people laugh, and delighted in entertaining everyone with his tales, celebrity impersonations, and, on occasion, poetry and singing. Bob also inspired much storytelling about himself, and friends who never met him came to love him through those stories. Bob was also an avid outdoorsman and was a lifelong fisherman, hunter, and gardener, and a member of the Newcomb (NY) Sportsmen's Club. Bob was always happiest spending time with family and friends amongst the beautiful lakes and mountains of his beloved Adirondacks.
Predeceased by his parents as well as his older brothers, George, James, and Bernard Steuart, Bob is survived by his wife of 56 years, Cheryl Howe Patterson, his two daughters and sons-in-law, Jennifer Parrack (John) and Jolene Fenske (Darren), four grandchildren (Rynn and Will Parrack, Laurel and Annaleigh Bingham), sister-in-law, Sue Steuart, as well as by many beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
A private memorial service will be celebrated in the Adirondacks later this year.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Adirondack Interpretive Center (VIC) in his memory. https://www.esf.edu/aic/support-aic.php
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