John Albert Patterson, 83, caring doctor, beloved husband, and world-class father and grandfather was called home to be with the Lord on Wednesday, August 7, 2019. John, known as “Doc” to his friends and family, worked as a radiologist in Spartanburg for more than 35 years.
During this time, he practiced at the X-Ray Clinic and both Spartanburg Regional and Mary Black Hospitals treating thousands of patients and working with hundreds of doctors, nurses, and staff. He considered all of them friends. In fact, Doc never met a stranger during his lifetime.
Although Doc worked long hours, he always took time to talk with everyone he came in contact with at the hospital, the grocery store, the dry cleaners, the bank, and everywhere else. He took great pleasure in sharing stories about baseball, history, politics, and his favorite subject – his family. According to Doc, after a life well-lived, his only regret was that his small hands kept him from playing in the big leagues.
Doc was born in “The Land of Pleasant Living” (Shelby, North Carolina) on February 6, 1936 to Cicero and Lallage Patterson, and he was raised alongside his older brother Robert “Bob” Patterson.
Doc was a proud graduate of Shelby High School and Davidson College where he was a baseball standout and made lifelong friends that lasted for more than 60 years. Doc attended medical school, receiving his M.D. from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston Salem.
After graduating medical school, Doc went to work at Charlotte Memorial Hospital where he met and married Sandra Kay Payton in 1966. Sandy was the love of Doc’s life for more than 50 years, and Doc never tired of saying that marrying Sandy was the best decision he ever made. Doc and Sandy settled in Spartanburg and were blessed with three sons- Chris, Jeff, and Matt.
Without a doubt, spending time with Sandy and the boys was Doc’s greatest joy. He enjoyed coaching his sons and traveling with his family to Braves baseball games, college football games, and an annual trip to Myrtle Beach.
The last decades of Doc’s life were spent loving and teaching his grandchildren: Will, Drew, Clay, Caroline, Lilly, Sam, Jake, and Ella Kate. Doc will be missed by all those whose lives he touched during his lifetime.
In addition to his grandkids, Doc is survived by his sons Chris, Jeff, and Matt and their wives Beth, Jessica, and Diana.
Visitation for family and friends will be held from 2:30 until 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, August 11, 2019, at Morningside Baptist Church Welcome Center, 897 S. Pine Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina. The funeral service will begin immediately thereafter at 4:00 PM. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Doc’s name can be made to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society of Greenville, PO Box 8328, Greenville, South Carolina, 29604 in honor of his grandson Clay.
An online guest register is available at www.floydmortuary.com
Floyd’s Greenlawn Chapel
Copyright 2019 Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC)