Reverend Patten

Lake Junaluska, Reverend Brooks Patten, age 93, died Wednesday, November 23, 2011. Born in Greenville, he was the son of the Reverend Dr. Walter and Sarah Cady Patten. He was a graduate of the University of North Carolina (1939) and Duke Divinity School (1942). Reverend Patten enjoyed a long and varied career of service to his church and his country. He was assistant field director of the American Red Cross at Pensacola Naval Air Station and Fort Benning. During World War II, he served as an Army chaplain with the 5th Air Corps, headquartered in Japan with the first occupying forces. During the Korean War, he served as chaplain of the 772nd Military Police Battalion and was instrumental in establishing the Ai Yang Won Orphanage in Taegu, which is still in operation today. He served 26 years in the US Army Reserves, with six years as an instructor for the Chaplains School in Durham and retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel. As a minister in the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, his pastorates included Wesley Foundation Director, UNC-Chapel Hill; and Founder, Highland UMC, Raleigh. He also served as Senior Minister at churches in Jacksonville, New Bern, Hamlet, Sanford, Weldon and Seaboard. An avid outdoorsman, he assisted the United Methodist Church in acquiring and developing numerous camping sites in Eastern North Carolina. Upon his retirement to Lake Junaluska in 1984, he spent five years serving parishes in the Waynesville area. He was also active in the local community, serving as chairman of the Junaluskans annual flea market, and participating in numerous construction projects on the Assembly grounds. He was also an avid woodworker, and enjoyed making walking sticks for family and friends. A lifelong musician, he enjoyed playing in local community bands, and founded a men�s choral group at Lake Junaluska. He also enjoyed sailing and photography. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Virginia Nash Patten; sons Read (Cristy), Don (Ginny), Rob (Lisa), and Tom (Katie); eight grandchildren; a brother-in-law, Dr. J. Kempton Jones; and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 26, 2011 at Longs Chapel United Methodist Church with Reverends Chuck Wilson, Bruce Pate and Ron Robinson officiating. The family will receive friends at 10 a.m. at the church. Memorials may be sent to Longs Chapel UMC Building Fund, P.O. Box 459, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745 or the Open Door, 32 Commerce Street, Waynesville, NC 28786.

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