His hope was in the Lord Jesus and on June 2, 2022, David Charles Patterson, 90, mounted up with wings like the eagles to meet his Lord and Savior whom he loved and served.

David Charles Patterson was born November 22, 1931 in Jacksonville, Florida, son of Scottish immigrant James H. Patterson and Ethel Bray Patterson.  He attended grade school in Ft. Worth, Texas and, at the sudden death of his father, came with his mother to live in Wheaton, Illinois.  He was an energetic and impressionable young teen. It was there that he graduated from Wheaton Community High in 1949 and then from Wheaton College in 1953, with a distinguished record in track and field. God provided godly mentors such as DeWitt Jayne, coaches Gil Dodds & Lee Pfund, an active church youth group, and many others.  While there he met and married Joan Welsh, who would become the mother of his five children.

Enlisting in the United States Navy in 1953, he was accepted into Officer Candidate School the following year.  He earned his wings in Pensacola in 1956, and then served as a naval aviator with VS-36, flying anti-submarine patrols in the S-2F Tracker from the Essex, Valley Forge, Lake Champlain,  Leyte, and other aircraft carriers in the Atlantic Ocean from 1956 until 1960. He later joined the Naval Reserves at Glenview NAS, where he was a Squadron Commander and was promoted to Captain in September 1976.  He cheerfully worked a number of other jobs, including flying for his brother's company, Patterson Aircraft, in Sacramento, California, before joining United Airlines in 1964.  He flew the B-727, DC-8, and B-747, before retiring as a DC-10 Captain in 1991.

He and Joan moved to Wheaton and then to Glen Ellyn where, as a resident for 32 years, he paid an active interest in the lives of his children, his church, and his community.  He later served on the Wheaton College Alumni Board.  He and Joan lived at Windsor Park before her untimely death in 2004.

On July 23, 2005, Dave married Joyce Nehring Peterson.  Dave loved and treated his new family as though they were his own.  Together the couple visited family and friends and enjoyed short stints volunteering on work projects, especially to Honey Rock Camp.  Dave always looked forward to the MIMS trips to Costa Rica each winter.  As an enthusiastic golfer, he enjoyed many opportunities to play.  He didn't care about the score "Just so I can be with nice guys on a nice day."

With a genuine interest in the lives of people Dave spent time personally each morning to pray for many of them, sometimes for their personal or material needs but often for assurance of their salvation in Christ. His closing request to God each morning as he finished devotions with Joyce was that God would "…help make us a blessing to someone today."

He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Joyce Patterson; his children: Michael (Bonnie) Patterson of New Smyrna Beach, FL, Deborah (Keith) Brady of Wilmington, DE, John (Marcy) Patterson of Jacksonville , IL, Tracy Patterson of Chicago, IL, and Steven (Kimberly) Patterson of Winneconne, WI; his grandchildren: Kaitlyn (Kevin) Dombrowski, Christopher (Heather) Brady, Cody (Sarah) Gray, Melissa (Joshua) Hoegh, Jordan (Danielle) Patterson, Kari Patterson, and Kyra Patterson; and thirteen great-grandchildren!

He was preceded in death by his parents, the Rev. James and Ethel Patterson; his three older brothers, Don, Dick and John and his first wife, Joan Welsh Patterson.

Visitation will be held at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 M. Main Street, Wheaton on Friday, June 17 from 4-8 p.m. A memorial service will be held at College Church, 332 E. Seminary Avenue, Wheaton on Saturday, June 18 at 10:00 AM.  The service will be livestreamed through this link: David Patterson's Memorial Service . Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to:  In His Steps Ministry, P.O. Box 827, Canton, MS 39046. www.InHisSteps.org