Kathryn Pearl Patterson

Kathryn Pearl Patterson Farm girl. City girl. World War II defense industry worker. Loving wife, mother and homemaker. Wonderful friend. Proud Cal Poly staff member. World traveler. Kathryn Pearl ("Kay") Patterson enjoyed all these experiences in her long and eventful life prior to her passing on April 28, 2019, in San Luis Obispo, California, where she resided since 1944. Born at home on the Cutshall family farm in Lakota, Iowa on August 26, 1921, Kay grew up on farms in Iowa and Minnesota. After graduating at age 16 from high school in Sherburn, Minnesota, Kay and her older sister Jeane were drawn to the bright lights of the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. The sisters attended business college for a year, after which 17-year-old Kay landed a secretarial job with a sportswear company, using her shorthand skills while earning 25 cents an hour. Kay and Jeane loved to dance in those days. Kay met her first husband, Robert Franzen, at a dance in Minneapolis. They were married in August 1941 when, in her words, "the threat of U.S. involvement in World War II hovered over us." During the war, Kay worked the swing shift at the Twin City Ordnance Plant operating a machine that inserted primer caps into tracer bullets, a hazardous job requiring close attention to detail, thick leather gloves, a hairnet, sturdy safety shoes and no loose clothing. Kay's husband Robert was killed during combat in Germany. In 1944, Kay moved to San Luis Obispo to live with her sister Jeane, whose husband Gordon Whitney was serving overseas. Kay worked in an office at the Camp San Luis Obispo military base. While there, she met her second husband, Ralph A. ("Pat") Patterson. They were married in March 1947. Their son Tom was born in 1948 and son Tim arrived in 1950. Kay was a stay at home mom during the late '40s and '50s, while her husband Pat worked as a pressman at the Telegram-Tribune newspaper in San Luis Obispo. She thoroughly enjoyed all the modern conveniences and gadgets that became available to American consumers in the '50s, '60s and more recently, all the while remembering she once lived on a rural farm with no electricity or running water. In 1960, she began working at Cal Poly, first as a part-time record keeper and later as a full-time Procure- ment Officer in the university's Purchasing Department. After retiring in 1982, Kay enjoyed 37 busy years of retirement, which included lots of travel in Europe, Scandinavia, India, China, Mexico, South America, Canada, Alaska and the Soviet Union. While living in SLO, Kay loved sewing, playing canasta and bridge, walking, golfing, china painting, making all sorts of crafts and maintaining her beautiful backyard garden. In 2017, Kay moved to The Villages at Garden Creek in SLO, where she enjoyed many social activities and outings with her fantastic fellow residents and the caring staff. Kay's husband Pat passed away in 1990. Predeceased by her sister Jeane, Kay is survived by her brother Max Cutshall (Donna) of Water- town, South Dakota; son Tom Patterson (Paula) of Arroyo Grande, CA; son Tim Patterson (Jamee) of Del Mar, CA; grandson Joseph Patterson, MD of San Francisco, CA; nephew Gary Whitney (Diana) of San Diego, CA; niece Kay Sharpe (Don) of Montecito, CA; niece Karen Thane (Jim) of Arroyo Grande, CA; and their respective children and grandchildren. With her warm and wise demeanor, Kay was a great friend to many, many good folks in San Luis Obispo County, a place that was very special to her for 75 years. She was much loved and will be dearly missed by her family. A small celebration of life will be held at noon on Saturday, June 22, 2019, at the Varian Ranch Clubhouse located off Orcutt Road at 2060 Varian Circle, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420.