Robert M. Patterson Jr., age 83, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania passed away on Thursday, February 23, 2023. Robert was born to the late Robert and Julie Patterson in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. He is survived by his only daughter, Julie, granddaughters Pamela and Sofia, and grand-dog Delilah, who all proudly called him “Poppy”. Robert was the middle child of three children. His late sisters are Mildred Levak and Jane Molmer. Robert is also survived by his nieces Jennifer Bond and Amy Levak Bloomberg.
Robert graduated from Penn Treaty High with a full scholarship, but decided college wasn’t for him and instead, started working full time. From age 18, he worked as a Title Clerk at Industrial Valley Title Company. He worked there for 35 years. In the 1990’s when the company started switching over to using computers, he refused to learn the new technology. Up until his final days, he used his old style typewriter to type everything such as letters, very specific shopping lists, checks, special occasion cards, and more.
Robert could often be found sitting on his front porch on warm and sunny days. He loved making small talk with all of the neighbors who walked by, often inviting them up to the porch to have a drink with him. He loved drinking Riesling (or really ANY wine) and although he always claimed that he didn’t like beer, he almost always had the German beer DAB in his fridge. In his younger years, he enjoyed fishing. As he got older, he found a love for photography. Despite having an accident at age 13 that caused him to lose his left eye, Robert was exceptionally talented at taking photos. He loved to take photos of the places he traveled to and of his daughter and granddaughters. Along with photography, Robert loved gardening and feeding the birds and squirrels. One time, he got bit trying to feed a squirrel and ended up in the emergency room. He continued to feed them even after this incident. Robert was an avid Jeopardy watcher and usually knew many of the answers. He enjoyed discussing philosophy, quoting famous philosophers, and was curious about the meaning of life. So how would we best describe self-proclaimed Mr. Wonderful’s personality? It’s all according to the day but he was the type of sentimental person that treasured and saved letters, cards, and drawings from people he loved. He would pay to fix something 1000 times rather than just buy a new one. But most people would describe Robert as a storyteller. He liked looking back at the past and reflecting on it. He enjoyed sharing stories about his life experiences and younger self.
Family and friends are invited to gather Thursday, March 2, 2023 from 10:00am to 11:00am at Galzerano Funeral Home for a viewing. Interment will be held at Greenmount Cemetery.
Thursday, March 2nd, 2023
10:00 AM
- 11:00 AM
Galzerano Funeral Home
9304 Old Bustleton Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19115
Thursday, March 2nd, 2023
Greenmount Cemetery
4301 N. Front St.
Phila., PA 19140