Edward F. Patterson Jr., age 91, passed away peacefully in his Kennesaw, GA, home on September 1, 2020. He was born January 8, 1929, in Earlington, Kentucky, to the late Edward F. Patterson Sr. and Theo R. Berry.
On July 11, 1990, Edward married his sweetheart of 7 years in San Bernardino, California. They shared 37 wonderful years together. Ed retired in 1991.
He was a US Army veteran who served in Germany during the end of WWII. Later he worked as a civilian at the Edwards Air Force base in California, where his interest in photography and engineering grew.
Ed was an avid engineer and loved inventing and building; including NASA inventions for the Apollo moon missions, camera calibration devices, and lens and optical systems for environmental analysis. He built the solar wind spectrometer still on the moon, and told his children that their names were etched onto it. He never stopped thinking of things to invent to benefit others. His last project was working on creating better Covid 19 personal protection masks. Ed had a creative mind, meticulous technique when tinkering, and loved storytelling. His children are grateful for the love of science and science fiction he gave them, for early access to personal computers, for memories of watching broadcasts of lunar and space flights, and for memories of "scuffles" to be the first to get the newest edition of Analog and Scientific American magazines out of the mailbox. He loved flying, photography, and spending time with his family in many national and state wilderness preserves, especially Yosemite National Park and Joshua Tree. He taught his children to leave a place better than how they had found it.
He was preceded in death by his wife Patricia (Trish) Patterson and is survived by his 5 children and 5 grandchildren, including: daughters Margaret Goddard, Karen (Frank) Albers, Mary Anne (Dennis) Dalrymple, son Edward J. Patterson, and step-daughter Amy (Robert) Teske. He is also survived by his brother Dennis (Kathie) Patterson.
A graveside service at Georgia National Cemetery, Canton, GA, will be held on September 11, 2020, at 2:00 PM to honor his memory. Special thanks to Georgia Funeral Care Cremation Services in Acworth for assisting the family with all the arrangements.
