Charles John Patterson was born to Merle and Mary Patterson on April 6, 1937. He was raised on the family farm three miles north of the Arickaree School. Like so many of their farm neighbors, they scratched out a living on the farm doing whatever it took to survive and keep the farm going. He helped his mother milk several cows, the milk was then separated and the cream was sold to the Wiladel store. They raised chickens, hogs, cows, and horses. The horses were used to pull the farm equipment. They were one of the last farms to convert to tractors. His dad earned extra money helping build WCRR with his team of horses. He had several dogs growing up and there were always cats running around the farm. His mother made many of their everyday clothes. On the farm, he learned how to take things apart, fix them and put them back together. A trait he inherited from his mother and he passed that ability onto his youngest son Lonny.
At an early age he learned to be kind and gentle. His younger brother Jimmy had hemophilia and rough housing was out of the question. He rode his horse three miles southwest of the family farm to Crystal Heights grade school. Some of the local kids that attended Crystal Heights were the Krause, White, Church, Rudniks, Stanleys, Adams and Schaffer. A friend of the family and one of his grade school teachers, Martha Kniese, gave him a good start in arithmetic. He was always good with numbers.
He had an unquestionable work ethic and worked until he retired in 2006 at the of age of 69. As a young boy he worked for Marion Brown who owned the local trucking company. They would go to downtown Larimer Steet in Denver and pick up the produce and deliver it back to Wiladel and the surrounding communities. He enjoyed working for Marion and he established a longtime friendship with Marion and his family. In his freshman year he went to live and help his aunt Effie Kouns in Rocky Ford. While at Rocky Ford he played football. He returned to the farm his sophomore year and graduated from High Prairie High School in 1955. He enjoyed playing baseball and basketball at High Prairie and formed lifelong friendships with his fellow students and competitors. While at High Prairie he met the love of his life Marcelyn Rose Brandon. They eloped to Raton, New Mexico and were married on June 27,1954. The water pump went out of the car on their way home from Raton, and John fixed it. The marriage was kept a secret for five months while the two continue to live at home with their own parents. Once this secret was out the two moved into his parent’s home. To this union three children were born: Jerry Carl, Lonny J, Lana Sue. Eleven grandkids and fifteen great grandchildren. He was looking forward to being a great, great grandpa in February.
During his early years, he held numerous jobs including: working in the Beet Factory at Rocky Ford, Oil fields at Fort Morgan, Martin Marietta in Denver, was a farmhand in Fort Collins, worked as mechanic for his brother-in-law Wayne Brandon in Otis. He also ran the Otis Movie theater for Bob and Doris Muchow. He recalled that during the showing of the Ten Commandments, one of the projectors broke down and it took five hours to show the movie. Marcelyn served free popcorn to all the people while they switched projectors. They operated the Otis Bowling Alley for a couple of years, and both became good bowlers. They bowled on several leagues and competed at local, state and national bowling tournaments. In the early 60’s they ran the Standard Station in Otis and in 1964 they moved to Fort Morgan where he became the service mangers at Lomar Ford. His fondest memory of running the gas station on the corner of Highway 34 and Washington St. (Main St.) was when Casius Clay (Mohammed Ali) and his entourage stopped to buy gas at the station on his way to fight Sonny Liston in Denver. He still has his autograph. While at Lomar Ford he eventually found his calling in sales when the owners noticed he was selling more cars than their salesmen. He believed 100% in customer satisfaction and over the years he sold many cars and established lasting friendships with his customers. Once he brought home a bright red Indy pace car that was on loan to the dealership.
In 1969 they returned to Otis, and he went to work as the General Manager at Marv’s Motors in Yuma. A car strike at General Motors prompted him to get out of the car business for good and he left Marv’s Motors. In 1970 he went to work for PK & E (Richard Pappenheim, Dwane Kjeldgaard, Ed Ediger), their main business was Dekalb Seed Corn and PruGrow liquid feed and fertilizers. He and Duane eventually became the owners and formed Sito Inc. (Otis spelled backwards). John and Marcelyn became the sole owners of Sito in the early 70’s. During the first few years Sito sold Dekalb corn, was the manufacturer and distributor of Silos (ensilage preserver) erected Monarch grain bins and American Steel Buildings. Two buildings of the many buildings that were erected were the Y-W Truck Garage in Akron and the Grocery Store in Brush, which is now the NAPA Store. The company also erected a large grain storing and handling facility at the Ward Ranch north of Eckley.
In 1976 they bought the Akron Otis lumber yard (a member of Hardman Lumber chain) that was managed by Jake Thompson. Jake stayed on as the manager of the lumber yard until his death in 1977. During this time Sito bought their first piece of machinery to build trusses. The truss business would become the main focus of the business. He established a customer base in the front range, many of those customers still buy trusses from Sito which is now owned by his daughter Lana and her husband Dave. At first the truss part of the business struggled and then the building boom hit in the 90’s. Sito truss was one of only four truss manufacturers in northern Colorado and the company made its mark as the premier custom house truss manufacturer. At the height of the boom, the company employed 50 employees. In 2006 he retired from the business.
They built a new house on the south side of town in 1981. They enjoyed putting out their Christmas display and it was a favorite in Otis for many years. His favorite color was red. His all-time favorite car was his first, a 1947 Chevy convertible, which a neighbor, Richard Fusnicker, painted red for him. He grew up loving and listening to country music on the radio and his favorite singer was George Jones. When he was younger, he enjoyed playing the guitar and he could sing. Some of his favorite songs were: Wabash Cannon Ball, Pick me up on your way down, Under the Double Eagle, on the Wings of a Snow White Dove and Squaws along the Yukon.” Squaws along the Yukon (Ooga ooga mooska, which means I love you) made famous by country music star Hank Thompson in 1958 was one of his favorite songs to sing.
He enjoyed traveling, playing cards, playing golf with longtime neighbor and friend Fred Church, and visiting with his friends, neighbors, and relatives. He was a sweet, gentle, kind and generous man. He never carried a grudge or had a mean bone in his body. He always looked on the bright side of things and never complained.
John was preceded in death by wife Marcelyn, parents Merle and Mary Patterson, brother Jimmy, in-laws Clifford and Veda Brandon, daughter-in-law Bette Patterson, his brother-in-laws and their wives: Wayne Brandon (Betty), John Brandon, Burnell Brandon, and Carroll Brandon (Koleta) and Dean Draegert, sister-in-laws and their husbands: Veda Resler (lvis), Velma Graves (Harold).
John is survived by, sons Jerry Patterson (Cheryl) and Lonny Patterson (Sandy), and daughter Lana Spurling (David); grandsons Collin (Michelle), Dillon (Trent), and John (Derek); granddaughters Shae Smith (Dan), Alisha Thorn (Devin), Jamie Weber (Jerry), Kandi Spurling, Brooke Price (Ryan), Sara Botkin (Jon), Amy Grantham (Nick), and Haley Perry (Andrew); and several great grandchildren. John is also survived by brother-in-laws Earl Brandon, Jim Brandon (Vickie), Russell Brandon (LeAnn), Marvin Brandon (Carolyn); sister-in-laws Phyllis Draegert, Alvina Brandon, Christina Brandon and Leta Brandon, and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral service was held Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 10 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church of Otis. Inurnment followed at the Otis Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Otis and the Otis cemetery.
2021-12-16