John Neil Patterson
April 10, 1945 – June 12, 2023
Son of Virginia May Oncle-Patterson and George Reynolds Patterson
Dear husband of Ruthann Rose Larrigan
Dear brother of Blake Patterson (Ellen Jackson), and Mary Patterson
Beloved uncle, and friend to many.
At a young age, John joined the Army and served in the Vietnam war.
John appreciated art and academia. He attended The University of Colorado where he worked as a miner until he graduated with a degree in Sociology.
He was a member of IATSE Local 478 for over 25 years where he worked as a “chief executive carpenter” (JNP) and oversaw the construction of many major motion picture movies.
John was also a member of the New Orleans Buzzards Marching Club, the oldest marching club in New Orleans. Among his favorite things were his yearly Dialogues trips where he enjoyed seeing his best childhood friends and climbing mountains.He also loved spending time constructing and living at a Fish Camp in Ansley, MS.
John repaired and made additions to the Historic Tricou House at 711 Bourbon Street. There, He enjoyed many friendships and meeting his wife, Rose, in The New Orleans French Quarter. Following Hurricane Katrina, John relocated in Eureka MO in a river cabin of his design, where he lived with his wife.
John passed suddenly after an extended illness.
His Memorial Funeral will be held at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery at a later date to be announced.
He lived a good life! We will miss him. Love you Rose
Our hearts go out to you…Two super art/sociology people who found each other and loved to the end, Rose and John, you both made a profound difference in my son’s life, my life, and all the people you both worked with! Missing John is an understatement… as in the song lyrics of Tom Waites- “the world is not round without you…” Prayers for all your friends, loved ones, and families…Rose, may you find the strength, power, and love, to get you through these difficult times… John would have wanted it that way. God bless you.
from Barbara Lane and Austin LeValley (IATSE 478-NOLa)
Blessings to your beautiful heart Rose🌹 I’m sad to learn of this. You are a blessing in my life. And I hope you know you’re not alone. 💜💕😘🌹
john and i were good friends in vietnam, he was a leader,and a good friend. i will miss him.hard core
11:23 pm 06/12/2023
Our old buddy Kurt, gives me the news.
SPONTANEOUS BOP EULOGY FOR JOHN “Peewee” NEIL PATTERSON
John Patterson
Died last week.
Damn, Damn, Damn
My Trombone Buddy is gone but not forgotten. In 3rd grade you were first chair and I was second and twas ever thus.
I remember when You were in Vietnam Your Dad took me out to Albans cuz that’s were all the young kids went. I really loved old George.
When you got back from Nam you came to Jack Seaman’s wedding!
I remember when you brought me the winning “Crusaders” patch of our Championship little league team.
I remember sitting on Fred Coffin’s porch of his mansion north of Detroit, drinking ‘ til early morning. No one at home. He never showed. I saw Fred in an early Steven Segal movie, hard to Kill. You pointed out a tv movie he was in. A western, Lonesome Dove.
I remember stories about Will Coffin Fred’s brother and Lou’s close friend.
You and Turfs legendary stint at Oakland University after dropping out of Michigan.
You hitching up to Telegraph Creek, B. C. to see Buri.
You breaking down my door in my grubby east Lansing apartment.
I remember hiking over the Great Continental Divide on Pawnee Pass, our legs breaking through the crusty snow up to our thighs. We ran into a bunch of young hippies that summer of 1972. There in the wilderness on their way to the first Rainbow Tribe gathering ever!
I remember climbing Mt. Bierstadt to the summit at 14,065 and sliding down the Spring, crisp snow on the backside riding our backpacks like sleds. We would have fallen over a cliff to our doom. But my pack hit a rock sticking out and the contents went all over so we had to put them back. That’s when we noticed the cliff!
I remember your Halloween costume party in your apartment on Broadway in Boulder.
Tom Brooks and I both came as “Miles King, Faith Realty”, in suits and white face and with some of Miles’s business cards we lifted to hand out as we introduced ourselves. Miles came as D.B. from Doonesbury. You spent most of the night in bed with Vicki and Hibschweiler and his girlfriend.
I remember you leading a group of us from a party up on Mt. Sanitas the building a fire in a cave just below the summit. A girl was getting freaked out so I walked her back down to your apartment and ran back up. Lordy we were fit!
I remember driving to Flint, MI for the SDS War Council with Dave Sinclair and the White Panther band The Up, while John Sinclair was “doing ten for giving two. What’s a poor boy to do, John Sinclair, John Sinclair.” As John Lennon wrote about Dave’s older brother, and sang it on his first album after the Beatles broke up.
I remember they searched us and found some doobies in my jacket. The girl at the door said NO DRUGS!! You said, hey, Mao said political power comes from the barrel of a gun and “F… you
Lady, we’re with the band.”
And on the way in to town a cop pulled up over and looked under the seat and found a plastic bill bottle. I just got back from Vietnam. And the cop let in us go. Tom Haden was trying to lead a gymnasium full of Yippies and old guard Khaki clad SDSers breaking up the SDS and forming “Weatherman” and planning bombings. The University of Wisconsin Sterling Hall, killed one and injured 4. Killed 3 of their own next to Dustin Hoffman’s townhouse. Psychosis in college.
I remember driving from Ann Arbor to Boulder in my old 1966 Oldsmobile. Picking up the Devil hitchhiking. You engaged him in esoteric argument so deep that I drove the whole way and by the time we got to Boulder you were mildly convinced he really was the devil. I dropped you off a couple blocks from Lou Turf’s, took the devil to The Catacombs in the Boulderado, gave him $30.00 and wished him luck.
Oh yeh. We stopped at his house during the time he said he was Jesus.
He took so long to come out I went into get him. His father and two brothers had flattop haircuts. With his shoulder length hair and long beard he had one shirt on a hanger. Obviously his prize possession! It was virtually identical to Stu Cook’s in CCR’s Royal Albert Hall concert.
I came out ahead and you were just about ready to come and get me out, with a pistol I didn’t even know you had!
I remember alligator hunting in Bayou Gauche. We all paid attention to your warning about the greatest problem. When you jump off the boat onto the gator, don’t let your knife fall out of your mouth!
None of us lost our knives!
I remember your great sculpture, “Head Fake, II. It was funny and genius. Claes Oldenburg never did anything as good.
I remember the hundreds of phone calls with your sweet Rose in the background!
Well that’s all for now old Trombone buddy, you always called me that! As always, there’ll be more later.
As you taught me so long ago, I’ve been up, down, flimmed and flammed, forged rivers, climbed mountains, I’ve been to three taffey pulls and a goat mating but I ain’t never seen nobody like you!
Your lovin’ Trombone buddy
Doug Thorburn