Catégorie : Amis/Friends

My recollections of Donald range from a number of different perspectives:  the passionate social and environmental activist; the family man whose love for his spouse, his children, and his grandchildren continues to resonate every time they are in his midst; the intellectual and inquisitive individual who, along with his “other half” (Genevieve), hosted a wide range of BidNite fundraiser events at their home on Argyle Street over of number of years; the hiker and lover of nature who participated in many an outing with UCMers, especially to the Adirondacks; the good humanitarian who, time and again, opened up their home to those in need of refuge, homestay, security, and support; and finally, the selfless individual whose financial commitment to the Unitarian Church of Montreal over the past several years has helped to keep our community vibrant and relevant.

Donald will be remembered for his wonderful approach and attitude towards life.  Anyone who has had the privilege of knowing and working with him would pronounce the same words:  gentle, kind, humorous, engaged, selfless, gracious, and big-hearted.  Just recently on Sunday, October 16th, I experienced a special moment with Donald as he sat in his wheelchair in the Sanctuary following the service.  He greeted me with a huge smile of acknowledgement as I bent over to give him a “bisous”.  It made my day.

Donald  is a loyal friend. His enthusiasm sparkles. His curiosity is venturesome and boundless. He probes philosophical and religious questions. He is a devoted churchman.

One weekday evening he and I were putting on a program at the church. As we were setting up what we needed in the room to present our program, we discovered to our dismay that the equipment we were planning to use at the church, – it may have been a slide projector,- was not available for the purpose for which we needed it. For Donald, this was no problem. No one had arrived for the meeting. It was still a bit early. There was one at McGill he could borrow. We hopped on the bus, rode to McGill. He disappeared in one its buildings on campus and reappeared shortly. We got back to the church before anyone else appeared. It had been a minor problem, solved quickly, easily, and cheerfully. The spirit in which he sailed through this minor glitch has stayed with me through the years.

He has been a devoted church member and contributed much to its life, providing leadership, sharing stimulating ideas, and enthusiasm. At a time when our financial burdens seemed overwhelming, he lectured us with mathematical calculations I could barely follow, arguing we were in much better shape than we thought we were. Within a couple of years we seemed to turn a corner and were setting aside funds for new housing for people with problems of mental illness.

I first met Don Patterson in the mid 1970s when the Pattersons were part of a team preparing and serving meals for street people at the Benedict Labre House where I was director. Through the years we kept contact up till the present day. Along with the family, Donald has always had a deep commitment to social justice, the environment and peace, this in spite of a severe cerebral handicap which he suffered several years ago. One of his interests is support for the Palestinians. One incident  touched me deeply. Several years after his stroke he gave me a book, the Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Elan Pappe based on archival material which the Israel government was obligated to release by law.. Since he could not communicate to me what the book was all about it was left to myself to find out. Although I had long supported the cause the book gave me a much sharper focus on the issue for which I am truly grateful.

Donald is gentle, kind, conscientious, and self-effacing. He has always been devoted to family, and friends of family as well. He and Genevieve had a tremendous influence on our daughter. She was welcomed into the family and this contributed enormously to the person she is today.

I remember coming to your home for those lovely French luncheons and we could not help but notice how devoted your Dad was to Beatrice. Your whole family was wonderful to her and I worked with your Mom in the early days to help her to learn to walk. But when your Mom was occupied with preparing lunch for us all, it was your Dad who conscientiously took over taking care of Beatrice. He adored her, as he did all of you.

For me, his major accomplishments were family-related. I admired the uncritical and supportive way that he enabled his daughters to find their own ways in life, even when the choice was to change course, after many years of studying in a field that turned out to be not quite the right one. Your happiness and fulfillment were paramount to him.

It was through Jean-Marie Bardin, his Ph.D. student who we met in the tiny tot reserve of the McGill campus, that we – or I – first met Donald … on the front porch of his large sand coloured house on Argyle Avenue ascending Westmount mountain.  He seemed oddly unassuming and friendly to be living in such an upscale area.  He also seemed to be a remarkably sunny personality – never annoyed or irritated, someone who greatly enjoyed life.

A center of his life was his daughter Beatrice to whom he was devoted and toward whose unpredictable antics he was unfailingly patient.  She was defenceless and needed constant attention.  It was amazing to realize he was able to meet the demands of his research and teaching obligations and yet so generous and affectionate with Beatrice.

Later I met him in the McLennan Library at McGill where he visited often in the middle of the day to, he confided, take a nap.

He was strikingly concerned about wildlife: rescuing baby squirrels who had fallen  from trees and catching mice in his house only to release them later on Mt. Royal.

A few days after Beatrice suddenly died we met him at the door of his house: clutching a piece of her clothing and weeping: “My baby died!” he said.

Donald was also good humoured about being a Unitarian surrounded by a flock of Catholics (due to the intellectual and political interests of Genevieve.)  One could not imagine him flying into a rage if one presented him with a cartoon of a Unitarian pastor … or of Whomever Unitarians gather to acknowledge.

One could go on and on with anecdotes about Donald but they always revolved around his goodness, kindness, attention to the plight of others less fortunate: in the neighborhood or on the other side of the globe.

One day I rode home on the 24 bus with his Chemistry Professor colleague, the late Jack Edwards, and when I told home we were friends of the Pattersons his face lit up and he said, chorteling, “I know what you are like then”.  He assumed we must be “granolas” with anti-conformist beliefs and behaviour, a bit dotty but harmless.  He also confided that he (and a number of his peers) had harbored a great admiration for Donald ever since they had been an undergraduates at McGill together so many years before.