Norman van Patten

1930 - 2016

Norman Lloyd van Patten

June 9, 1930 – March 6, 2016

Dearly loved husband, father, and grandfather to his extended family and nearly lifelong Bay Area resident Norman Lloyd van Patten, 85, of Oakland, California, died peacefully on March 6, 2016, after a long struggle with strokes, progressive vascular dementia, and aphasia. He received wonderful care in his final years from his beloved wife, Elizabeth (Betsy) van Patten, with the appreciative, loving support of family, including his daughters Angela and Margaret van Patten and his stepson and daughter-in-law, Rob and Demitra Brandt.

Norman's parents divorced early in his life and he grew up in various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington State, with each of his parents as well as extended family. Early on he acquired a love for the beauties of wilderness areas through family road trips and backpacking adventures. He received a scholarship to Harvard College and studied there for two years before enlisting in the army in 1950 to fight in the Korean War. After his discharge from the army, he returned to school to receive his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and then his MBA from Stanford before embarking on a 38-year career at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation in Oakland, from which he retired in 1994.

Norman's first marriage to Virginia Giltner Freeman in 1953 resulted in four children: Angela, John, Mark, and Margaret van Patten. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1978. In 1981 he married Elizabeth Winn Brandt and they enjoyed an adventurous 34-year marriage of work, travel both in the U.S. and abroad, and backpacking and skiing in the Sierra.

Norman was preceded in death by his parents, his half-brother Robert van Patten, and his half-sister Janet van Patten Murray. He is survived by his wife, his four children and stepson and their families, a half-brother, David Martin, two half-sisters, Cathy Aguilar and Mary Beth Patton, and five grandchildren.

We wish to express our deepest gratitude to the wonderful people at the Aphasia Center of California, Alzheimer's Services of the East Bay in Berkeley, and Sunrise of Oakland Hills for their loving and compassionate care for Norman in his final months and years.

A celebration of Norman's life will be held at Skyline Community Church, 12540 Skyline Boulevard in Oakland, on Saturday, July 23, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Aphasia Center of California, 3996 Lyman Road, Oakland, CA 94602.