Donald Jay (Don) Patteson, 69, of Riesel, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 27, 2017, at the Waco VA Hospice unit after a long struggle with congestive heart failure. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, on November 27, 1947. A graveside service will be held at the Riesel Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 2. Family and friends are invited to join the family afterwards at the Riesel Lions Club, 1270 E. Frederick St., for food and reminiscing.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, Evelyn and Alvro Patteson, and by Macaria Lawson Patteson, his wife for 23 years and the mother of their children. Celebrating his life with a multitude of memories are his son Dwayne, of Bella Vista, Arkansas; daughter Jeanifer (with her husband Scott, and grandsons Tyson and Michael, of Port Neches, Texas); his wife of almost 19 years, Rita (née Skrabanek) of Riesel; step-son Alan Humphrey of Marlin, Texas; and a number of cousins and friends.

After graduation from Highlands High School in San Antonio in 1965 and from Baylor University in 1970 with a BA in psychology, Don served in the United States Air Force for two years, with tours of duty in Germany and Viet Nam. After discharge, a variety of careers included coaching at Truman Junior High School in San Antonio; in Waco, he worked for the A.B. Dick Corporation, counseled with the Mental Health Mental Retardation Center, traveled throughout the south selling L. L. Sams Church Furniture, and retired from Texas Meter & Device after 14 years as a calibration and metrology technician. He continued to repair, calibrate, and test high voltage equipment part-time until 2015. He had a strong commitment to his family and was honored to have two grandsons.

Don had many interests—fishing (especially at Port Aransas and Mustang Island), boating, kayaking, camping, bow hunting, fast cars, vintage automobiles, motorcycles, golf, photography, coaching Little League baseball, Baylor football (an avid side-line coach and umpire, who knew all the rules), his dogs (border collie, basset hound, and schnauzer, giant and small), Mexican pottery, music (especially true country western), a variety of musical instruments: banjo, fiddle, guitar, etc. (teaching guitar at a young age in San Antonio and then locally after the family moved to Riesel in 1978). He knew the words to hundreds of songs and had a real fondness for composing his own lyrics—especially parodies. During Baylor days, his band traveled in a Cadillac hearse (often parking it near Pat Neff Hall); he accompanied some of “the greats,” and later enjoyed participating in local fiddle contests. He was a surprisingly good self-taught artist and chef, especially proud of his Irish heritage and the fact that he could be his own mechanic; rarely was there a project he wouldn’t tackle. Would that snippets of his wry, caustic humor and observations could be included here. Those who knew him will remember his comments with a chuckle, often followed by a shake of the head. He was truly one of a kind and will be missed.

The family wishes to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of the Temple VA hospital and ICU and the Waco VA hospice unit for their kindness and care during these last months. They are to be commended. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the American Heart Association or to Fuzzy Friends Rescue in Waco. Oakcrest Funeral Home, 4520 Bosque Blvd., Waco, Tx 76710 is in charge of arrangements.

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