John “Jack” Hugh Patterson
John “Jack” Hugh Patterson was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 12, 1916, the son of Hugh and Eleanor Gertrude Patterson, a Rochester Blue Star Mother. He graduated from Rochester High School in 1935 and participated on the football, basketball, and track teams as well as the RHS student yearbook committee. John married another RHS graduate, Louise Redwood, in 1940.
John attended the University of Michigan and also the Michigan State University Advanced Management Program.
John joined the United States Marine Corps on March 13, 1945. He was assigned duty as a war dog handler at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In early 1946, PFC Patterson was responsible for the rehabilitation and de-programming for Doberman Pinscher Sgt. Sparks S/N 49. Sgt. Sparks was a Marine Raider war dog returning to the United States, retiring from military service after participation in several significant Asia Pacific battles. Prior to his battalion separation
on May 18, 1946, PFC Patterson was granted possession of Sgt. Sparks with special approval from the U.S. Marine Corps. Patterson and Sparks returned home to Rochester, Michigan, and were featured in the Rochester Clarion on August 1, 1946.
In May 1948, John H. Patterson, Commandant of the Rochester Detachment Marine Corps League, obtained State approval from the Michigan Athletic Board of Control for amateur boxing and wrestling to be held at Rochester High School or Halbach Field.
John served as a member of the Rochester Community Schools Board of Education in the 1960s. He was the first director of the Michigan State University Management Education Center in Troy, Michigan.
John H. Patterson was employed by the U.S. Government for three decades with responsibility for military procurement and quality assurance. He received a Presidential citation in 1964 for his efforts.
John Hugh Patterson died on September 4, 1991, at the age of 74 and was laid to rest at Mount Avon Cemetery.
Story and photo courtesy of John H. Patterson Family