If you ever read Naomi Patterson?s columns in The Topeka Capital-Journal, or happened across some of her award-winning poetry, you had a good feel for what she was like as a person.
Friends and family members on Thursday said Patterson was the real deal ? a straight shooter with a tremendous intellect and wicked sense of humor who loved to lift the spirits of others, even at times when she was struggling.
After battling Parkinson?s disease since 2003, Patterson died Oct. 17 at her home at Brewster Place in Topeka, with her children, David Patterson and Carol Baldwin, at her side. She was 78.
For nearly three decades, starting in 1971, Patterson specialized in working with children in Topeka as a clinical psychologist at the Shawnee County Health Agency, the Topeka Psychiatric Center and Pediatrics P.A.
In addition to her professional career, Patterson had a variety of creative outlets. She was a stained-glass artist, magician and prolific writer, delving into poetry and prose.
It was from her writings that most people ? even those who never met her ? connected with her.
?I think her personality came through in all her writings,? said her son, David Patterson, 50, of Oak Park, Ill. ?I think people knew her really well from her columns. She was always very sincere.?
Patterson began writing columns for The Capital-Journal in 1997. Her last column appeared in late September on the topic of death.
Patterson also penned her obituary, and even there her sense of humor was evident.
Intermingled in the various organizations to which she had belonged, Patterson noted she was a ?former member of Sam?s Club? ? a reference to the warehouse store.
Despite Patterson?s career commitments and work in creative outlets, her son said her ?No. 1 priority was always her own kids.?
?I know my sister and I are both really grateful for what she did for us,? he said. ?We?re both tremendously proud when someone says some facet of ourselves reminds them of her.?
Baldwin, 47, of Tecumseh, was her mother?s main caregiver in her later years, when Parkinson?s disease began to take a toll on her ability to move and speak. Patterson moved into the Brewster Place retirement community in 2007.
Baldwin said it was ?an honor? to care for her mother, noting ?it was in no way an obligation or something I dreaded.?
She said her mother was her ?best friend, as well as being my mother.?
?The thing I admired about her,? Baldwin said, ?is she was what you saw, and she was what she wrote. There was no guessing. She was very upfront and honest. She was amazing ? very strong.?
Even as her mobility had diminished, Patterson would still ?wheel around? Brewster Place and bring laughter to other residents, Baldwin said.
?She was trying to make others laugh and have a good day,? Baldwin said, ?even when she wasn?t.?
Baldwin said her mother died at home, according to her wishes. The weather that day was windy, with gusts of about 48 mph, Baldwin said.
?That was my mother?s favorite kind of weather,? Baldwin said Thursday. ?The wind kept blowing for a week. I said, ?Mom, we get it.? Now, it?s kind of died down today. I think she finally got it.?
Evie Green, 81, of Topeka, calls herself Patterson?s ?No. 1 fan.? She said the two met around 2001 at a Kansas Authors Club conference in Hutchinson.
While at the conference, Patterson read some of her poetry to Green.
At that time, Green said, she ?fell in love with her genius and her way of thinking.?
From that point forward, Green said, she counted Patterson as one of her best friends.
?She was my mentor, my muse and my good friend,? Green said. ?I?m going to miss her.?
Memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1701 S.W. Collins.
In lieu of memorial contributions, she asked that friends surprise someone with a bouquet or single flower in her memory.
Patterson?s last column on death can be found at www.cjonline.com/opinion/2012-09-23/naomi-patterson-dying-know-answers.
Source: http://cjonline.com/news/2012-10-25/columnists-deft-touch-left-mark
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