Roger F. (Bud) Patton

Roger (Bud) Patton passed away July 17, 2013, in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

He was born in Auglaise County, Ohio, on Feb. 24, 1930. In 1955 after returning from service in the Korean War, he and his brother Dick purchased a couple of new International Harvester pickups and headed for Alaska. Bud homesteaded 160 acres on the north side of the Little Susitna River and built his home there.

He worked at the Experimental Farm in the agronomy section and retired from the state of Alaska after 25 years of service. His passion was all things related to guns and had an extensive collection of firearms that he enjoyed showing to anyone who came to visit. He enjoyed hanging out with his friends at Chimo Guns, anxiously awaiting the delivery of their latest models.

After his retirement, he busied himself with fixing things around the homestead and growing and grinding his own wheat. He enjoyed experimenting with fruit trees and had a fascination with grafting, which produced several varieties from the same plant. The local moose could not fully appreciate his efforts, however, and there was a never-ending battle over who would harvest the fruit.

Bud enjoyed his time alone, but was always happy when one of the neighbors dropped by. Bud will be remembered as a generous man, both with his time and resources. Bud always loved a good joke and would share them with anyone he met. He especially loved telling stories about the guys he worked with on the farm and would laugh louder than anybody as he shared them. Bud returned to Ohio in 2006 to be closer to family. He enjoyed his daily visits to the Lucky Steer and Bob Evans for those home-cooked meals he loved and to share his jokes with the waitresses and patrons there.

Surviving are his brother, Paul, and family.

Schlossers Funeral Home in Wapakoneta, Ohio, handled funeral arrangements, and he was buried in a nearby cemetery.