Robert Patton

1929 - 2024

Robert Patton
01/21/1929 - 10/03/2024
Robert Gray Patton, a San Francisco pediatrician whose gentle, compassionate care helped thousands of children and families over four decades of practice, has died. He was 95.
Dr. Patton was beloved by his patients, who often sent their own children to him for care. Over his decades of practice, it was not uncommon to hear an excited "Dr. Patton!," followed by a warm embrace as far away as New York City or even the Paris Metro. Outside his medical practice, he nurtured a lifelong love of music and the arts, a fascination with history, and a passion for the outdoors.
Robert, known by his middle name Gray, was born January 21, 1929, in Durham, North Carolina, the oldest of three children to Lewis Patton, a professor of English at Duke University, and Frances Gray Patton, a novelist and writer whose short stories appeared in the New Yorker.
Gray spent his childhood in Durham, where he enjoyed trips to the local movie theater, collecting insects and spiders, and cheering on the local minor league baseball team, the Durham Bulls. He showed an early talent for drawing and painting – when his mother once asked him at age seven to "draw a bath," he soon returned with a pencil drawing of a bathtub.
Gray attended Exeter Academy and Yale University, graduating in 1950. Later, while a medical student at Duke University, Gray's younger twin sisters, Mary and Susannah, introduced him to a Duke undergraduate, Rosemary Dundas, originally from England. Rosemary and Gray were married in Durham on October 2, 1954. After completing military service in Louisiana and medical training in pediatrics at Duke and fellowship training at Children's Hospital in Boston and in Syracuse, New York, he and Rosemary moved in 1961 to San Francisco with two young daughters, Mary and Sarah. A third daughter, Susannah, was born three years later.
In San Francisco, Gray joined a pediatric practice led by Dr. John Piel, who became a lifelong friend and cherished colleague. As a pediatrician, Dr. Patton was known for his caring demeanor and dedication to his patients and their families, embarking on house calls in his earlier days and taking phone calls each day from 7 to 8 am. In addition to a thriving private practice, he taught countless medical students and residents at U.C. San Francisco and San Francisco Children's hospital. "His kindness, patience, professionalism, and encyclopedic knowledge made him an esteemed and respected colleague and mentor for two generations of pediatricians – he was a 'physician's physician', " said close friend and colleague Dr. William Gonda.
Outside of the office, Gray enjoyed a rich and active life, spending weekends with the family at Steep Ravine, near Stinson Beach, and summer vacations in the Sierra, where he and Rosemary developed a love of the mountains. An incurable optimist, Gray led his family on lengthy hikes through San Francisco, around Marin County, and over mountain passes in the Sierra – all the while proclaiming "not far to go."
Gray and Rosemary's curiosity and adventurous spirits led them to explore California and western states widely, and also to travel extensively in Europe, Asia, and South America. When at home, Gray always had time for his five grandsons, who each enjoyed a special trip with him and Rosemary when they turned 11, and who will always remember his keen interest in their lives.
Gray's family and friends will miss his sharp intellect, wicked sense of humor, boundless curiosity, and interests and enthusiasms that ranged from Bach's Goldberg Variations to Mozart's Don Giovanni, from naturalist Charles Darwin to the historian John Julius Norwich. He was an accomplished artist, spending many weekend afternoons painting landscapes and birds of all kinds, creating works of art that adorn the walls of family and friends. He also loved movies of all genres, fishing, gardening, bird-watching, hot dogs, and chocolate ice cream.
Gray was a devoted and loving father to his three daughters, encouraging their varied interests in art, science, literature, and the natural world, while providing a warm and congenial home life. He was loved and admired by his sons-in-law and grandsons, as well as by his nieces and nephews across the country.
He is survived by daughters Mary Patton (Roger Phelps), Sarah Patton (Peter Feichtmeir), and Susannah Patton (Christopher Noble); sister Susannah Patton of Washington, D.C., grandsons Robert Phelps, (Stephanie), Nicholas Phelps (Hannah), Ian Feichtmeir (Carmen), Samuel Noble, and Thomas Noble. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rosemary Dundas Patton, and his sister, Mary Bogdonoff.
His family would like to thank his friends and caregivers at the San Francisco Towers, who enriched his life and provided warmth and solace in recent months.
A celebration of Gray's life will take place in January, 2025. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in his name to the San Francisco Achievers, Planned Parenthood, or the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).