Jan Patterson

Our beloved wife, mother and 'Grammae' Jan passed away on November 5 at the age of 86 after a multiyear struggle with dementia. Her family was with her at the time of passing. Jan was born on October 1,1939 to Aubrey and Bernice Calvert in Covina. Her earliest years were spent with her cousins in LaVerne until the end of WWII when their fathers came back from the US Navy in the Pacific. The family then moved to Glendale where Jan attended Glendale Hoover High School and was the Homecoming Queen and graduated in 1957. Her college years were at UCSB joining Delta Gamma sorority and later Panhellenic President in her senior year, graduating with a major in Elementary Education. It was at UCSB that she met her future husband, Bruce.

Jan always had a desire to travel and experience life in interesting places. She taught school in Manhattan Beach, then looked east and traveled to Germany, where she taught in the US forces schools in Nuremberg and Munich. It was during the summer of 1965 that she came home for her sister's wedding that she met Bruce and decided to get married. They were married in 1966 in Glendale and immediately were off to Europe, spending their honeymoon touring 12 countries. A year later, her wanderlust was evidenced by a car trip on the Alcan highway to Alaska.

In 1968 the couple moved to Corona Del Mar where her three children were born, Stacy, Kirk and Brock. She was totally devoted to her family. They remember her vividly for the many fun trips to the beaches of San Felipe, Septembers at Catalina, skiing at Alpine Meadows (Clare Tappan Lodge), and camping in the national parks. She loved the Pacific Ocean and would easily swim in cold temperatures and then let her grandchildren bury her in the sand. She was an accomplished cook and hosted fabulous and whacky polenta parties for friends and was known to make memorable chocolate chip cookies. She left a rich legacy of photo albums and scrapbooks which will showcase her devotion to family and love of life. After her children became adults, she worked at Saddleback Community College in the Assessment of Prior Learning section of counselling. Many of her students were testament to her devotion to their needs and future education.

Her life was marked by kindness, generosity and a deep devotion and commitment to family and those she loved. She will be warmly remembered for her one-of-kind spirit and vibrancy she brought to everyone she met.

Jan is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Bruce Patterson; her daughter Stacy Keating (Gordon) of Basalt, Colorado and her son Kirk Patterson (Amanda) of New Braunfels, Texas and her son Brock Patterson (Sachiko) of San Juan Capistrano and grandchildren Will, Evi, Cora, Annie, Elias and Sam and her sister Dianne Bowman of Las Vegas.

A Celebration of Jan's Life will be held in the summer.