Norman Edward Patch

1922 - 2014

Norman Edward Patch, 91, of Havenwood, passed away peacefully Thursday, May 1, 2014.

He was born in Manchester on Nov. 19, 1922, the son of Arthur and Dorothy Bradley Patch. He grew up in Fitchburg, Mass., where he worked for 35 years for New England Telephone Company. He served for four years in the U.S. Army during World War II in the South Pacific and Tokyo. He was an active hiker (Mount Monadnock was his favorite mountain and he hiked to the summit of Mount Washington at the age of 70) and a gardener, an avid reader, and a devoted family man. He coached Babe Ruth baseball and was active in Rollstone Congregational Church in Fitchburg.

After he retired he volunteered at the local food bank in Townsend, Mass. and also in Wolfeboro, where he and his wife Barbara lived for 12 years. He was known for his dry wit, great sense of humor, and his thrifty Yankee ways, his life shaped by growing up during the Great Depression.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barbara; two sons, Norman Patch of Portland, Ore. and his wife, Joanne and Douglas Patch of Bow, and his wife, Donna; and three grandchildren, Adam of Syracuse, N.Y., Emily of Boston and Jonathan of Bow. He is also survived by his sister. Patricia Bradley and her husband. Robert of Virginia Beach, Va.

He was predeceased by his older brother, Robert of Glens Falls, N.Y.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Capital Region Food Program c/o M. Susan Leahy, McLane, Graf, Raulerson & Middleton, 11 South Main St., Suite 500, Concord, NH 03301, or the Friends of Forgotten Children Food Pantry, 224 Bog Road, Concord, NH 03303.

Services will be held at Havenwood at a later time and a brief service will be held in the chapel at the Veterans' Cemetery in Boscawen Friday, May 16, at 1:30 p.m.