Richard "Dick" Patterson

Richard Lee (Dick) Patterson passed away September 13, 2021 surrounded by family. He was born to Richard A. and Maxine C. Patterson on March 28, 1942 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and was affectionately called "Skip" by close family and friends throughout this life.

He attended Kalamazoo Central High School and then Western Michigan University where he trained as a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. While attending Western he met his wife, Sallie in 1962. They were married in 1965 and shortly after graduation they were stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany with the US Army.

Dick and Sallie were happily married for 56 years. Dick lovingly carried a picture of Sallie (from 1962) in his wallet until the day he left us. Dick is survived by Sallie and their three children Rick (Marcy), Kim (Michael), and Bob (Claire) who simply knew him as Dad. As Dad, he is fondly remembered for his lifelong commitment and support of their endeavors. As children, dad never missed a sporting event, a homecoming dance, local parade, or anything involving his kids. He particularly loved time on the lake towing his kids around on water skis.

As adults, Dad was equally supportive of getting his kids through college, navigating career ups and downs, and helping his kids start their own families. With the arrival of his first grandchild he became "Bepa", which is when he really hit his stride. From the moment the grandkids were born he cradled babies and laughed at their antics. Later in their lives, he handed out unsolicited advice on a range of topics and gruffly dismissed teenage drama as nonsense.

Whether you knew him as Son, Skip, Dick, Dad, Beeps or Bepa - you knew he was a loyal man with an absolute commitment to his family. He had one heart and gave it to everyone. Sometimes you had to sift through a side order of sarcasm or gruffness, but it was always there and everyone who knew him well, knew… family was first.

While family was clearly first, his love of committees and meetings was obvious to all who knew him. This included years on the Parchment School Board, Hospice board, church boards, the lake association board, the township zoning board, and the Gilmore Car Museum board where he combined his love for meetings with his love for old cars.

In addition to his wife, three children, and their spouses, Dick is survived by his sister Nancy (Duane) DeHaan, Mary (Bruce) Hadden, 11 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

Proud of his military service, Dick will be placed to rest in Fort Custer National Cemetery. There he will join the many men and women who have served our country.

Please join the family for an outdoor visitation and tribute to Dick at 3 pm on Monday, September 20th at the Gilmore Car Museum in Delton. Please dress casually.

Finally, in lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the ALS Foundation in honor of his granddaughter Rowyn Wilke.

Please visit Dick's personalized online guestbook at https://www.langelands.com