Col. Robert Eli Patterson Usaf Retired

Colonel Robert Eli Patterson, USAF Retired January 21, 1932 - October 10, 2025 Richland, Georgia Beloved husband, father and grandfather, Col. Robert E. Patterson, 93, of Richland and Renfroe, Georgia, passed away suddenly and peacefully in Boone, North Carolina, with all his children and grandchildren at his side. Robert was born on January 21, 1932, in Columbus, GA, and was the son of the late Robert Eli Patterson and Juliette Van Horn Patterson. He grew up on the Patterson farm at Renfroe, GA, during the 1930's and 1940's and experienced the fun and freedom of being a boy in the country with siblings, cousins, and friends. He was an outstanding son and grandson and worked on his parents' farm and his grandfather's farm as a young boy and teenager. He tended livestock, knew how to hook up mules to wagons, supervised farm crews, knew all about tractors and machinery, cutting timber and driving logging trucks. He started college at Middle Georgia Junior College in Cochran and was accepted to Emory...