More detail on this person: Herald Tribune Obituaries Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) - Saturday, October 24, 2009 March 15, 1931 - Oct. 21, 2009 Maj. Gen. (Retired) James Howard "Jim" Patterson, 78, of Sarasota, formerly of Longboat Key, died Oct. 21, 2009. A Memorial Service with military honors will be held on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Toale Brothers Funeral Home, Colonial Chapel. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., at a later date. Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Barbara S. Patterson; daughters Carol Patterson and husband Steve of Ft. Worth Texas, and Linda Patterson Italiano and husband Sal of Tampa and Leslie Scott and husband Bob of Rolling Hills Calif.; brothers John Patterson and wife Sara of Genesco, Ill., and William Patterson of Ocala. He is also survived by six grandchildren, Matthew, wife Shea and Whitney Patterson; Eric and Keith Sutliff; and Lauren and Bryan Scott. Jim was born in Canton, Ohio on March 15, 1931 to Mary Lynn and Howard Patterson. After attending public schools in Lexington, Mass., he graduated with a B.S. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was a member and president of Kappa Sigma fraternity. He later received an M.B.A. from Auburn University. Jim joined the U.S. Army in 1952 and attended Officer's Candidate School. His illustrious military career of 28 years included assignments all over the world and more than 30 awards for valor and meritorious service. They include the Legion of Valor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars, two Legions of Merit, a Purple Heart, and numerous other Air Medals. After his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1987, he was hired as the Vice President of Perceptronics, Inc., a military contractor. He later served as President and C.O.O. of American Agronomics. In 1993, Jim began his political career on Longboat Key. He was elected the Vice Mayor, Mayor and Town Commissioner until his retirement from public life in 2003. He also organized and raised funding for S.T.A.R.T., an organization to combat Red Tide. Jim loved his wife and college sweetheart, Barbara, his children, grandchildren, friends, colleagues and his God and country above all. He was an avid sailor, an accomplished pilot, a competitive tennis player and a member of various community and civic organizations. He was loved by many and will be remembered by all who knew him. Memorial contributions made be made in Jim's name to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Sarasota, or to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, attn: Tribute Gifts, P.O. Box 780, New York, NY
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
This information was last updated 03/20/2020
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