Lewis Donald Patterson

Lewis Donald Patterson, age 82, of Delaware City, DE, passed away peacefully and surrounded by his loving family and friends in the Compassionate Care Hospice Unit at St. Francis Hospital on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease and lung cancer. The son of the late Lewis D. Patterson and Sidney I. (Carr) Leach, Don was born in Wilmington, DE on October 5, 1934. He proudly served his country as a Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps where he was a demolition instructor during the Korean War. Don was a member of the Delaware City American Legion, Robert Taylor Post 13, and a member of the VFW Post 8801. He was also a life member of the Delaware City Recreation Club where he enjoyed bowling and horseshoes; a member of the Brantwood Golf Club, where in 1991, he won the Club Championship; and an active member of the Delaware City Senior Center. Don enjoyed fishing (in 1998 he caught the largest striped bass in Delaware!) golfing, building wooden airplanes, drawing, playing the guitar, listening to music, playing bingo, and in his younger years, hunting. He also enjoyed watching golf, football, and his favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees, on television. Above all else, Don relished the time he spent with his loving family. In addition to his parents, Don was preceded in death by his two sisters, Lois Patterson and Virginia Patterson Truluck, both of Delaware City; and his brother, George W. Patterson of New Castle. He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 59 years, Mary June (Costango) Patterson; his two children, Elizabeth D. Lisa Patterson Rial and Joseph S. Joe Patterson, of Delaware City; his much loved grandchildren, Stuart L. Stu Rial of Philadelphia and Katherine E. Kate Rial of Airlie Beach, Australia; sister, Charlene A. Hendrix and her husband, John of New Castle; three sisters-in-law, Theresa Costango and Jeannie Costango, both of Middleburg, FL and Shirley Costango of Tallahassee, FL; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. A committal service will be held at 10 am on Wednesday morning, March 15, 2017 in the chapel of the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Rd., Bear, DE. Interment will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Delaware City American Legion, Robert Taylor Post 13, P.O. Box 277, Delaware City, DE 19706 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, 399 Market Street, Ste. 102, Philadelphia, PA 19106.