Dan Patten

My brother, Daniel Brent Patten, passed away on January 2, 2023. He was 66 years old. On September 2nd, his family and friends gathered at one of Dan's secret camping spots to remember him and celebrate his life. As the sun set, we let his ashes fly with the winds of the eastern Sierra Nevada. Everyone told their favorite Dan stories; these are some of mine.I will always remember that my younger brother loved to garden barefoot. That was a mystery barefoot? He was a unique gardener. He always planted potatoes, corn and other vegetables, and invariably grew pot plants between each of the corn stocks. He loved gardening and didn't mind weeds. Dan, who looked like a typical southern California surfer, was born in Frankfurt Germany. He didn't surf; he played baseball. Dan had athletic ability and became an outstanding pitcher. His games were special occasions at our house. Mom was nervous when Dan was on the mound, yelling from the sidelines, "Come on Danny, you can do it." I watched in wonder as Dan took the pitcher's mound and threw the ball nine times nine strikes in a row! Then he calmly walked off the field.Dan and I were longtime track and field fans. We met in Eugene, OR many times to watch the Olympic or World Championship trials, rarely missed the famous Prefontaine track meet each May, and traveled to New York for the Olympic Trials Marathon and NYC Marathon. We even watched televised track meets he in CA and me in OR and did our own play-by-play analysis in real time on the phone. My brother loved to travel and we enjoyed several long road trips together in Europe. Once we drove all over Scandinavia with our mother, listening to stories about her Norwegian heritage. One afternoon we were on a narrow mountain road on the edge of a high cliff overlooking a beautiful Norwegian fjord. I was driving. Dan sat beside me in terror as our mother, who was sure we were going to veer off the cliff, sang Onward Christian Soldiers in the back seat. Although untrained as a musician, Dan had a collection of electronic keyboards and was passionate about writing his own music. His living room in San Pedro was filled with instruments and recording equipment, and he spent hours playing music with friends. Dan completed his BA from California State University Long Beach and became a teacher, like our father. Dan grew into his role as the art and drama teacher at Monte Vista Middle School in San Jacinto. Dan loved the J.R.R.Tolkien books and introduced his students to those stories by directing student plays with lots of hobbits and dragons. Our parents met in Yosemite and it was a special place for us. Both Dan and I worked in Yosemite for the National Park Service in the 1980s. He also worked in Sequoia National Park. Dan loved the Sierra Nevada mountains and took many long hiking trips. Later, he bought a cabin on the east side near Mammoth Lakes where he stayed for weeks at a time and enjoyed hanging out with friends. Dan, I was lucky to have you as my brother. We had a great time creating a full life of memories togetherBill