Eugene Patterson led local fundraiser efforts by Kiwanis
Eugene "Gene" Patterson, a longtime Sacramento resident who helped raise money for local groups as a Kiwanis Club member and leader, died Feb. 9 of multiple myeloma, his family said. He was 79.
Mr. Patterson spent 25 years in the Greater Sacramento Kiwanis Club, including terms as president in 1976-77 and 1995-96. He represented 10 local Kiwanis groups as Division 7 lieutenant governor in 2003-2004.
He led efforts to buy a Steinway piano and bench for the Sacramento Symphony and served on the symphony board from 1976 to 1989. He raised money for Kiwanis Family House, which offers temporary shelter to families of children receiving treatment at UC Davis Medical Center.
"He was a good man who did a lot of good for other people," Kiwanis member Bob Canady said.
Mr. Patterson was born in Highlands, N.J. in 1932. He was a sergeant in the National Guard and helped install Nike missiles on the Northern California coast during the Korean War.
He settled in Sacramento in 1968 and graduated from California State University, Sacramento. He spent a career in the wood-products industry and retired from Burnett & Sons Mill and Lumber at age 78.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Frances; sons, Michael of Paradise, and Christopher of Dayton, Ohio; sister, Patricia Vainik of Chula Vista; and two grandchildren.
A funeral Mass is set for 11 a.m. Friday at Presentation Parish, 4123 Robertson Ave., Sacramento. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Foundation or Kiwanis Family House.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Robert D. Dávila
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.