In loving memory of Alan Patterson
June 6, 1950 – December 1, 2023
Alan Roy Patterson, a long-time resident of Oceanside, passed away on December 1, 2023, at Palomar Hospital in Escondido. He was 73 years old. Alan was born and raised near Detroit in St Clair Shores, Michigan.
He graduated from South Lake High School and earned a nursing degree from Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan.
In 1985, he married Millie (Mildred Kathleen Ham) in Detroit. Millie’s parents lived in Fallbrook, and they relocated to Oceanside to be near her large family. He and Millie were married for 32 years and had two daughters, Alison and Noelle.
He worked as a registered nurse specializing in mental health care as a psychiatric nurse. He was employed for 20 years at Mesa Vista Hospital, ten years as a supervisor, as part of Sharp Healthcare in San Diego before retiring in 2015.
Alan was an avid fisherman and often embarked on multi-day deep-water fishing excursions with his buddies. He always shared his huge fillets of Tuna, Dorado, and Yellowtail with friends and neighbors.
He and Millie regularly volunteered at the weekly outreach dinner, Meals with a Message, at Oceanside First Presbyterian Church. On one occasion, he provided enough barbecued tuna to feed the entire roomful of grateful attendees.
He delighted his young daughters when he taught them how to fish for Squid and to catch slippery Grunion on Oceanside City Beach.
Alan was a good friend and a giving person to all who knew him. He always had time for someone in need and a joke ready to lighten your mood.
If you wanted to talk about classic rock trivia, he knew it all and had a great vinyl collection. Even the family cat was named Bob Dylan.
He will be sadly missed by all. Alan had always wanted his ashes to be spread in the sea off Oceanside, near the city and ocean he loved, and his wishes will be honored.
He is survived by his daughter Alison Rose Rushing, her husband Darryl Lee Rushing, granddaughter Sakura, age three, and grandson Lee Roy Rushing II, age three months; daughter Noelle Kathleen Patterson and her husband Leo Qiu; ex-wife, Millie (Mildred Kathleen Ham) Patterson and sister, Susan Patterson.
