Della Jeanne Patterson Obituary (1934 - 2013)

Orr’s Island --- Della Jeanne Patterson, 78, Retired Professor of Governmental Finance at Indiana University. Della Jeanne (Hays) Patterson, 78, of Orr’s Island died September 30 after a long illness, including nearly 15 years on dialysis. She was born in Billings, MT, to Leonard C. Hays and Grace M. (Chamberlin) Hays on November 7, 1934. She attended schools in Billings and graduated from Billings High in 1952. After attending The University of Montana for two years, she transferred to The University of Colorado where she graduated in 1956. Following two years working as a civilian employee for the Army in Portugal and Holland, she returned to do graduate studies at Indiana University where she earned the MBA and a doctorate in 1967. Soon thereafter, she became a member of the founding faculty of the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs where she was the director of undergraduate studies and then taught governmental finance and government accounting for 30 years until she retired in 1998. Professor Patterson was a specialist in local industrial development corporations and in state and local finance. While at the University, she was active in faculty co-governance and was for a time chair of the University athletics committee and fringe benefits committee as well other academic committees. At the end of her career, she became interested in matters of corporate governance and served as the editor of the then Portland, ME, based Corporate Library’s research clearinghouse. She also contributed material to two editions of the widely used Monk and Minow Corporate Governance text. In 1964, Jeanne married James M. Patterson, a professor of Marketing in the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. She met her husband sailing and was an active Thistle sailor in Bloomington, IN, on Lake Lemon for 30 years and in Annapolis, MD, where the family maintained a condo and a Tartan sailboat. After getting a taste of sailing in New England for a couple of summers, Jeanne and Jim decided to buy a second home in Maine when they retired. It didn’t take long for the Maine lifestyle to work its charm on the couple, and after splitting the year between Annapolis and Orr’s Island for about 10 years, they became full-time Maine residents four years ago. From her early days, Jeanne was fascinated by the stock market and was an enthusiastic investor who liked to have the ticker tape running in the background as long as the market was open. She loved a bargain, whether it was found in the Dow Jones, an auction, or a thrift store. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her two children, Marshall Patterson of Annapolis, MD, and Julie Patterson and her partner Robert Morgan of Novelty, OH; two step sons, Robert Patterson and his wife Ann of Sitka, AK, and Donald Patterson and his wife Maura Wood of Baton Rouge, LA; her brother L. Crandall Hays and his wife Brenda of Mequon, WI; and five grandchildren. A special thank you to the staff of Mere Point Nursing Care for their kindness to Jeanne in the last year. As a mom, Jeanne was particularly sensitive to the needs of families with sick children. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Ronald McDonald House of Portland, 250 Brackett St., Portland, ME, 04102; Phone: (207) 780-6282.