Donald Albert Patterson was born on October 18, 1953; he died on September 24, 2018 at his home in Brothers, Oregon at the age of 64. He was married to his wife Hettie (Woodruff) Patterson for almost ten years. He has five children, nine grand-children, and several nieces/nephews and cousins.
Don was born in Kennewick, Washington to his parents Elmer and Gladys Patterson (Parker). He was the oldest of three children: his younger sister Cathy Kilmer died in 2010; his younger brother Duane Patterson resides in McKenna WA. Don graduated from Newport High School on the Oregon coast where he played saxophone, football and baseball.
He attended Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University) and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in physical education. In 1974 he married Kathy Sharp, and they lived in Klamath Falls. They had four children: Jill Williams, Erin Patterson, Laurel Finck, and Brad Patterson.
Don initially worked as a teacher at Chiloquin High School for two years and was also the baseball coach. He then worked as a chip truck driver for U&R Trucking for many years. He transitioned into construction work with Klamath Pacific and later Mountain Pacific.
During this time, he also owned his own landscape care business, Mow & Grow. He has worked for Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for 14 years serving at Alkali Lake and Brothers. In 2008 Don married Hettie Woodruff, and they lived in Brothers on the ODOT housing compound.
He also attained a fifth bonus-daughter, Jarrie Davis. His ODOT work included paving, flagging, road maintenance, and snow plowing. He spent several years improving and maintaining the Brothers Oasis rest area.
He also spent numerous hours reconstructing the Brothers school, both inside and outside. He has volunteered with the Brothers-Hampton Rangeland Fire Protection Association in various capacities, including serving on the board of directors. He also volunteered with the Silver Creek Rangeland Fire Protection Association helping to remanufacture military surplus equipment into fire fighting equipment.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 6 at 2:00pm at the Brothers Elementary School gymnasium located at 34396 Highway 20, Brothers, Oregon 97712. Memorial donations in Don’s name may be sent to Brothers-Hampton Rangeland Fire Protection Association (Brothers, OR) or Silver Creek Rangeland Fire Protection Association (Riley, OR). Autumn Funerals – Bend is honored to serve the family 541-318-0842 To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Donald Patterson, please visit our Tribute Store.
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