The NCF remembers long-standing Foundation member William Patterson. His obituary is provided below.
William Lowell Patterson, retired NSA cryptolinguist; proud father, grandfather and great grandfather; and lover of elephants, Sudoku, crossword puzzles, NPR Sunday Morning, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus, died in hospice in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 22. He was 88 years old.
Bill was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 9, 1935, the son of schoolteachers George Howard Patterson and Beatrice McCalmont; brother to Homer, Betty, Jim and Bob. Bill moved to the DC area and married Barbara Jean Shortt on September 1, 1957. She was the love of his life and the center of his world. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1963 after famously flunking out of Oberlin College. Famously, because this former embarrassment became a hopeful tale of recalibration and perseverance that he shared with everyone he met in recent years relaying the message that life can turn out magnificently, even after perceived failure.
After leaving Oberlin, Bill joined the Army which sent him to study the Thai language at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California. He went on to work for the NSA and to live in Hawaii and Thailand with his family before returning to Maryland. During overseas relocations, the family was fortunate to explore the wider world together. Throughout their travels, Bill and Barbara instilled in their children a love of multiculturalism and a curiosity about the world. Bill was an accomplished baseball and basketball player for many years - even playing a game of hoops before the King of Thailand at one point. Once settled in Maryland, sports were central to the family culture with frequent coaching and volunteer roles filled by both Bill and Barbara. In his work, Bill developed an innovative program to prepare Thai language teachers and was widely respected in his field for his accomplishments, leadership and mentorship that shaped the program going forward. He was instrumental in the creation of the National Cryptologic Museum and a proud supporter for the rest of his life. Bill retired from the NSA in 1997 after a 42-year career involving the Thai, Lao and Vietnamese languages. He was a longtime member of the Phoenix Society. Points of pride are his work on Asian language computer fonts, co-authoring a 1994 version of the Lao-English Dictionary, and paving the way for the next generation of cryptolinguists to excel.
Family was important to Bill, who will be fondly remembered as a thoughtful and engaging conversationalist. He had a measured style, yet often launched into song or made funny faces to amuse his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In recent years, Bill lived at Baywoods of Annapolis where he created a fulfilling life with good friends, good eats, and plenty of peace to enjoy his puzzles and podcasts.
Bill is survived by his brother, Robert R. Patterson, and by his four children: Sindia, Cathy, Nancy and Scott, eight grandchildren: Cara and Luke, Annabel and James, Sydney and Rian, and Nicholas and Grace, and six great grandchildren: Peregrin and Chloë Joy, Callan and Cora, and Chloe and Arlo. Barbara, his cherished wife of nearly 60 years, died in 2017. Belva, a beloved granddaughter, also predeceased him. Interment for both Bill and Barbara will be held at a future date at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial gifts can be sent in his name to The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey.
