Written by AMA staff (10/2005); Formatted by JS (11/2005, 05/2006, 12/2008), Reformatted by JS (12/2009)
John Patton – In Memoriam: 1916-2005
John Edward “Pat” Patton – the 17th AMA president (1969-70) and Model Aviation Hall of Fame member – died at his home in Frederick, Maryland, October 11, 2005, at the age of 89.
Among his many achievements in the past six decades of involvement with the Academy, John has been Free Flight Contest Board Chairman; Nats Radio Control event director; various officers, including president, of the Frederick Model Airplane Club and the District of Columbia Radio Control Club; District IV vice president; and AMA’s representative to the FAI.
As president, John played a key role in bringing the FAI F3A (Radio Control Aerobatics) World Championships to the United States for the first time in 1971. He also wrote several articles for MA (most recently the “2005 Southwest Regionals” in the July 2005 issue and “Searching for Free Flight Airplanes” in the May 2004 issue.) He was an active and successful [Free Flight] modeler.
In addition, John served as treasurer of STAR (the Society for Technical Aeromodel Research), which produced a transatlantic flight by a Radio Control model. Survivors include John’s wife Mary Elizabeth Lux Patton, his daughter Connie Ann Kenna, his son John E. Patton Jr., 5 grandchildren, a step-granddaughter, 5 stepchildren, 25 step-grandchildren, and 1 step-great grandchild.
The family requests that memorials be made in John’s memory to the Hospice of Frederick County, Box 1799, Frederick, MD 21702, or the National Kidney Foundation, 30 E. 33rd St, New York, NY 10016. MA -AMA HQ
John Patton
John Patton, the 17th president of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (1969-1970) died on Tuesday, October 11, 2005. He was 89 years old.
John was a gentleman in the true sense of the word. Integrity was always in the forefront when he dealt with organizational or personal problems. He handled complaints and disputes with calm fairness and firm honesty. His years of tenure were marked with high morale in the Headquarters staff, membership enthusiasm and growth and a sound financial status. As president, he played a key role in bringing the FAI Radio Control Aerobatic World Championships to the United States for the first time (Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1971).
John’s service as president was just part of the many durable efforts he made on behalf of AMA during the past six decades. Here is a list of some of his contributions as published in the document that nominated him to be a member of the Hall of Fame. 1. Organizer and Contest Director for the Mid-Atlantic Championship model meets held at the Frederick, Maryland airport in 1957-1968. These meets were for categories of Free Flight, Control Line, and Radio Control Aerobatics with 150-200 contestants. 2. Chairman of the Free Flight Contest Board (1960-1961).
3. Administrator/Organizer of D.C.R.C. Symposiums held at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (1959-1964).
4. Nats Hobby Shop manager - worked full-time annually for 7 to 10 days as a volunteer for 16 years (1978-1994). 5. President and treasurer of Monocacy M.A.C. 6. Nats Radio Control Event Director (1965 and 1966).
7. Three-time president of the Frederick M.A.C. Also served as secretary and/or treasurer at various times (1950-1980) 8. Vice President AMA District IV (1971-1972) 9. AMA representative to FAI (1969-1970)
10. Contest Director and FAI certifying official at events that successfully produced nine world records in categories of Radio Control distance, duration, and speed. John was elected to the Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 1997. More recently, he served as treasurer of the Society for Technical Aeromodel Research (STAR) that produced a transatlantic flight by a Radio Control model.
One might think that there would be little time for him to do anything other than work for the good of model aviation. Not so! John was an enthusiastic motorcyclist, serving as the president of the Frederick Honda Club for many years. In 1993, at the age of 77, he and his wife, Liz, rode duo on his Gullwing Honda on a 28-day transcontinental ride, encountering not one drop of rain!
John was also an extremely active radio amateur (W3FRV) with more than 500 confirmed CQ responses from around the world. As a lifelong member of the Frederick Kiwanis club, he spent many, many hours at work on charitable fund-raising projects. And, yes, he did build model airplanes and flew for fun. John was an all around great guy. His many friends mourn his death, but are happy to have the memories he left behind.
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