Charles LeRoy 'Pat' Patterson

CHARLES LEROY "PAT" PATTERSON

Toledo

Charles LeRoy "Pat" Patterson, 92, of Toledo, passed away Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 23, at the First Presbyterian Church in Toledo with Pastors Tom and Jean Bower officiating. Private Interment will be held at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo at a later date. Memorial visitation will be held from 2 to

4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home in Tama with a Masonic service at 4 p.m.

Charles LeRoy Patterson was born Feb. 3, 1927, in Wisconsin to parents Roy and Margaret Patterson. Firstborn Betty and Charles survived a third sibling, who with their mother, Margaret, died in childbirth. The family moved to Toledo, Iowa, shortly afterward, living with grandparents on East State Street. Roy was injured severely in World War I and passed away when Charles was 12 years old, after which Charles lived primarily with grandparents, an aunt and cousins until he graduated from Toledo High School in 1945.

After graduation, Charles "Pat" was inducted into the U.S. Army and served in Italy. Sgt. Patterson returned to the states after the war and resided in California, where he became a trained and certified deep-sea diver. During a return trip back to Iowa, Pat met and, in 1950, married Lois Ann Morgan, daughter of Rel and Violet Morgan. Together, they lived in Toledo and raised their two sons, Michael and Mark.

Upon his return to Toledo, Charles worked for the Toledo Cleaners, the Tama County Recorder's Office, and then was one of the first employees hired to work at the new Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Plant in town where he worked for some 40 years, later serving as plant superintendent.

Like others of his remarkable generation, Pat's life was one of community service. He was a member of the Toledo Fire Department for 50 years. He also served with great joy as one of the founders and director of the Toledo Emergency Services for 30 years. Pat was a lifelong member of the Toledo Presbyterian Church, longtime member of the Masonic Lodge and also the Wieting Theatre Board and Guild. He enjoyed serving on the board of directors for the Tama-Toledo Preschool and Tama-Toledo swimming pool. A lover of music, Pat sang with the Toledo Presbyterian Church Choir and a Men's Gospel Choir in Grundy Center for years.

Pat is survived by sons, Michael and Mark; daughter-in-law, Sue; grandchildren, Shannon (Michael), Brandon (Jill), Ben (Chelle) and Katie; and great-grandchildren, Lily, Violet, Lachlan, Guthrie, Brecken and Ferris.

Preceding him in death were his parents; his wife, Lois, in 2009; granddaughter, Stephanie Patterson, in infancy in 1979; and his sister, Betty Nichols.

The family will be directing any memorials received to various local charitable organizations.