Tom Patton once wrote that since his early retirement he had been trying to find out what he would rather have done when he grew up.
To judge from his retirement activities, Tom, who was born in Port Deposit, Md., to Gordon Sexton Patton and Ellen Robbins Whaley Patton and died Sept. 23, 2010, in Berlin, Md., had little trouble answering his own question. Educated at St. Andrew’s School and Princeton, Tom served in Berlin, Germany, and Bordeaux, France, in Army counterintelligence, then worked 25 years
for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, retiring as vice president of international marketing. He returned home to Berlin, Md., and became a force in its revitalization.
A family man, Tom enjoyed hunting, fishing, tennis, and writing. Very much involved in conservation of coastal bays’ natural resources and preservation of his home county of Worcester, Tom wrote Listen to the Voices, Follow the Trails, which provided insight into the history of his rural seaside community.
Tom is survived by Jean Welliver Patton, his wife of 48 years; daughters Catherine Anne Patton and her husband, Steven Farr, and Elizabeth Patton Mulholland; grandchildren Christine and Michael Mulholland, and Savannah Hastings; step-grandchildren Emily and Alexander Farr; a niece, Cynthia Patton; and a nephew, William Patton.