Profile: V.E. PAT PATTERSON

Michael Easterling

9/18/2018

V.E. 'Pat' Patterson, Mike's with Mike and Lew - Circa 1958

When I was a child the big guy was always around.  He was the husband of Dorothy Nell (Nonnie), one of my Dad’s sisters. His given name was Vernon Ersie, but most just called him Pat. He loved my mom and dad and greatly enjoyed dropping by to see them.  He would stand and talk and relish their company, sometimes for hours. He rarely sat down. He loved Mom”s fried chicken and her cakes and pies. When I was a little boy he called me “Skeeter” and the nickname stuck for many years

He and my dad’s other sister Virginia, her husband JD and their two boys Mark and Gary came to all our family gatherings. I think he nick named Gary “Chachie PD.’’ Pat and JD were cousins, raised together in Gilmer TX, and they loved each other like brothers. At the gatherings they drank big, had fun and raised gentle hell. Pat’s mother, a real Southern 

Baptist would be present occasionally and she would get very upset, crying and yelling at him saying “Ersie you are going to Hell if you do not change your ways.” As often as not she would leave the gathering, sobbing.

I heard that Pat and JD were real hell raisers as kids…hard drinkers and fighters. The local cops knew them well. There was one incident when they were carrying banana stalks around and hitting people with them. They did some other things which they said couldn’t be talked about. Later on they joined the Navy together and served in the South Pacific during WW II. They were both Sea Bees and I think some of the time they served in the same unit together. 

 When the war was over JD went to SMU and got a degree in accounting. After graduation he went to work for the Leland Fikes Oil Company. Over time he grew close to Mr Fikes and became his right hand man. JD became wealthy in oil investments and later on in real estate.

Pat became a salesman and he was a super one. He became a top Manufacturer’s Representative. His sales territories were mainly in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. In the early 1950’s he was making over $50,000 per year. The equivalent amount today would probably come to $300,000 +. When my dad became a salesman Pat became a great adviser to him. And when my brother Bubba became a salesman Pat was his mentor.

He hated his given name Vernon Ersie oft times saying he wouldn’t give the name to a dog. As an adult he legally changed his name to Pat Patterson.  

He was a big eater and had the waist to show it. He was a regular in cafes all over his territories. The waitresses knew who Pat Patterson was calling out his name when he walked in the door. He considered himself an absolute expert on hot cakes,  biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steaks and enchiladas. Tee bone steaks and Home made pies too. And when you went out to dinner with Pat he would always head for the kitchen after eating to loudly congratulate the cooks and try to get them out to our table to meet his family. He loved good food and he loved his family.

When I was in High School Pat was a regular at my bball games. Anytime I scored he would yell up into the rafters. And when my team came down the court he would constantly yell “Give the ball to Mike, give the ball to Mike.” After the games he always  hung  around in our locker room.

Years later I became a Chaplain at West Point and occasionally would travel with their athletic teams. One time I traveled with the Army football team to Dallas where they were playing SMU. We flew into Dallas and took a bus to stay at the Hilton Hotel near SMU. As we pulled into the Hilton parking lot there was some guy standing in the darkness in front of the bus waving his arms. It was Pat. The driver didn’t want to run over Pat so he stopped the bus and opened the door and Pat came aboard. Pat saw Lt. General Bernie Rogers sitting in the first row and said: “General, I’m Pat Patterson, is Mike Easterling on this bus?” Bernie replied: “Well he sure is Pat” Embarrassed but sort of proud I grabbed my gear and joined Pat.. Pat called out “Good luck boys” to the players and we were off the bus and on our way. (Bernie Rogers became a 4 Star General and the Commanding General of NATO)

He loved to hunt and owned 20 or 30 guns. He was a deer hunter but most of all he loved to hunt dove on the first day of dove season, September 1. In 1960 he was out there as the season opened with family and friends. If you knew Pat you knew he yelled  loudly each time he got a bird. He got his limit then sat down against a pecan tree with a can of Lone Star Beer. He was with people he loved. But all the butter and biscuits and sausage gravy and chicken fried steak and beer caught up with him. He closed his eyes and died. He died way too young but I like I like to think he was a happy man.

I never met a man like Pat Patterson, no one even close. I never think about him without smiling and feeling deeply grateful he was in our lives. He was truly one of a kind.