Florence
Funeral Home
Chancellor Funeral Home
Visitation
Chancellor’s Funeral Home in Florence on May 13th, from 1000 to 1200.
Service
May 13th,12:00 p.m., Chancellor’s Funeral Home, Florence. He will be laid to rest in a private graveside
ceremony at Florence cemetery later that day.
Obituary
Another great Soldier and Fallen Hero have been released from duty, passed from our ranks on May 8, 2021, and moved on to his heavenly home. LTC(Ret) George L. Patterson Jr., a retired member of the MS Army National Guard who had served within MSARNG OCS Academy, 1/155 Infantry Battalion, Joint Force Headquarters MSNG and had worked as a full-time employee within the AGO Facilities Management Directorate has departed and gone to a better place with our good Lord.
It takes a special person to serve within the military for their country giving up their family time, comfort, and safety for their country, ultimately for all Americans to enjoy their freedoms, safety, and way of life. We now applaud you for your service to our country. A special message from General Douglas McArthur remains applicable today for our servicemen that have passed: “Old Soldiers never die; they just fade away”.
Rest in Peace Soldier. We applaud your patriotism and brave efforts in serving our country and your family for their support of your service. We thank you for your service. Without your efforts and your families’ support, this country would not stand so boldly, shine so bright and live so free.
You now have earned a rest, so go fly with the Angels, go rest high on that mountain; your work on earth is done. Go to heaven a-shoutin’ Love for the Father and the Son.
Obituary
LTC (Ret) George L. Patterson, Jr., 78 passed away Saturday, May 8, 2021 at University of Mississippi
Medical Center in Jackson. The family will receive friends for visitation at Chancellor Funeral Home in
Florence, MS, on Thursday, May 13, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held
in the funeral home chapel immediately following visitation. He will be laid to rest in a private graveside
ceremony at Florence cemetery later that day. George was born May 17, 1942 in Lancaster, PA to George L. Patterson, Sr., and Dorothy Ainsworth Patterson. He grew up in Clinton, MS and graduated from Clinton High School where he was voted most handsome his senior year, probably due to his luxurious head of hair. In 1961, as George loved to tell, he saw a girl “from across the room,” and knew it was meant to be. That girl would turn out to be Sammie Dear Thomason who, as he predicted, would
become his beloved wife of 59 years, and they would raise 3 children together. George joined the
Mississippi Army National Guard in 1960 and would serve with distinction until his retirement in 1995.
His military career would include an active-duty assignment at the Pentagon in 1974 and a slot on the
MSANG competitive shooting team where he excelled at long-distance marksmanship, earning many
awards. George was a man of many talents; he graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in
1967, worked as a cartographer and draftsman, taught land surveying at Hinds Junior College, and
served as an instructor for Officer’s Candidate School. He also enjoyed building furniture, home
remodeling and construction, and was a dedicated outdoorsman where he taught his children the
importance of conservation-minded wildlife management. George enjoyed spending time with his
grandchildren, who knew him as Poppy, and showing them the beauty of being in the outdoors, even if
it’s just taking time to watch the squirrels and birds.
Along with his parents, George, Sr., and Dorothy, George was preceded in death by his brother Michael
Eugene Patterson and sister-in-law Faye Kersh Patterson. George is survived by his wife Sammie of
Florence, daughters Debbie (Bert) Williams of Peoria, AZ and Paula Patterson of Halletsville, TX, and son,
Bret (Melissa) Patterson of Florence; grandchildren Jordan (Andrew) Meskin, Morgan Williams, Nina
Patterson, Carly Patterson, Ridge Walker, and Sophia Walker; great grandchildren, Harper and Hannah
Meskin.
It should be noted that George and his family fought a long, courageous battle with dementia and their
thoughts and prayers are with those individuals and families who are still in the fight. In lieu of flowers,
the family asked that charitable donations be made in George’s memory to the Dementia Society of
America, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service
Trust, or a charity of one’s choice.