Robert Charles Patterson

Robert Charles Patterson Robert Charles Patterson — “Bob” to all who knew and loved him — passed away on Sunday, January 18, 2015, at his home in Manhattan. He was 67. He was born far from his beloved plains in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to parents Jean Wedeman and Robert Archibald Patterson on December 11, 1947. Soon after Bob’s birth the family moved to Hicksville, New York, then on to Houston, Texas, where he grew up. At Bellaire Senior High School, Bob served as host to an American Field Service exchange student from Ecuador, actively participated in the school’s drama curriculum, and earned his Boy Scouts of America Eagle Scout award. He graduated with the Bellaire Class of 1966. Bob was a man of ready wit and kind humor. He was remarkable for the depth of culture in his character, nurtured by his studies at the University of Texas, where he earned his B.A. in English in 1971. He carried his love of learning into his life and career beyond. Bob served two years in the Army, where he was stationed at Fort Riley. His Army ties continued into his teaching career at Barton Community College at Fort Riley, where he taught English and technical writing to civilians and soldiers alike. Bob’s students gratefully acknowledged their debt to him for his inspirational and supportive teaching. He was known as an approachable teacher who would help a student far beyond the requirements of the position. Outside of his career, he contributed to the life of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan, in which he held several leadership positions. In the time he spared for himself, Bob enjoyed music and indulged his insatiable appetite for literature, both as a reader and in his own writer’s craft. Outdoors, he took great pleasure in cycling and birding. He also dabbled in photography, his camera never far from reach. Throughout it all, he cultivated a wide circle of friends, in the flesh and also online, to whom he was always generous with his warmth, wit and encouragement. He will be missed by all of them, but even more so by the relatives who survive him: his sons Joshua McAllister, Owen Ebberts, and Taylor Ramsey Patterson; his mother Jean, as well as his sisters Ellen Jean Henderson and Janet Louise George. They are joined in their sorrow by Bob’s nephews Edward James Henderson and Ryan Christopher George. His brother, James David, preceded him in death in 1987, as did his father, Robert, in 2013. A memorial service will be held Sunday, February 1, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan, 481 Zeandale Road, Manhattan, KS, 66502, at 12:30 p.m. Donations can be made in his name to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan at PO Box 910, Manhattan, KS, 66505.