Donald Hamilton Patterson ’40

Don died at his Annapolis, Md., home on Dec. 2, 1997. Close at hand were Libby, his wife of 55 years, and their four children with their families.

At Princeton Don made his mark in wrestling and lacrosse; he was a member of Cap and Gown and a politics major. He entered Harvard Law School for a single day when the Navy assigned him to the V-7 Program. As an officer, Don served on destroyers in the Mediterranean and South Atlantic and was awarded the Bronze Star. Later he commissioned the high-speed transport USS Myers and was given her command.

After WWII, Don joined the Baltimore "Sunpapers," charged with the newspaper's move to a new location in Baltimore. Rising through the "nuts and bolts" side of newspaper production, he became publisher in 1977. Don retired in 1983, but became president of the A.S. Abell Foundation -- a benefactor of educational, medical, and cultural institutions. His many activities included being trustee chairman of Severn School and chairman of Historic Annapolis, maintaining that city's rich heritage.

Commenting on Don, a Sun editorial wrote, "To meet Donald H. Patterson was to like him. He never failed to be kind, considerate, and self-effacing. He never took himself too seriously."

Don's '40 classmates join his family and close friends in mourning the death of this highly accomplished Princetonian.

The Class of 1940