Mack Esau Patterson

Mack Esau Patterson (48) left this world on Monday, July 31, 2023. Mack was born in Arcata, California on September 3, 1974 to Patricia Dillon and Perry Patterson. He left his log cabin in the mountains of Northern California for his lifelong home of Austin, Texas before he began preschool. In Austin, he was a Lee Roadrunner, Kealing Hornet, Lamar Scottie and a McCallum Knight. He graduated from McCallum in 1992. Mack finished his formal education at the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with honors in 1997. His love of nature led his life’s education. He loved stones, fossils, and horticulture and was a certified arborist. He artfully displayed the specimens he found on his collecting expeditions in his homes and gardens.

He was a fan of the written word and music and celebrated a wide range of artists including Jim Harrison, Ernest Hemingway, WB Yeats, Pablo Neruda, Q-Tip, The Beatles, Jesse Winchester, and John Prine. Mack loved to travel with friends and family. His excursions took him to Italy, Switzerland, France, Greece, Chile, Mexico, and all over these United States. He loved to be in a tent in the mountains under starry skies with his boy, Prine, to be telling tall tales to Ruby and Quinten overlooking Rebecca Creek at Susanne’s and his land near Canyon Creek, or to be in a bungalow by the Pacific Ocean with his friends. He was a great road trip partner who sought out adventure in any location. He dove headfirst into life, sometimes at the risk of a frightening gash to the head or the loss of his swim trunks, but onward he dove. He was a beloved teacher to his students at Huntington-Surrey and a popular arborist and leader of Mack & Co. tree services in Austin. He was a proud father, a loving husband, a caring son, a cherished brother, a wonderful uncle, and a great friend to so many. He was a fabulous storyteller, a listener, empathetic and endearing. He could fill a room and make it brighter with his presence. He was kind (he’d bring his mother flowers just because), gracious (happy to lift someone up with his words), generous (he’d find you a coffee mug at a thrift shop or drop off some succulents for your front step), and he was beautiful and is gone far too soon.

Mack is survived by his wife, Susanne Crawford Patterson and her kids Ruby and Quinten; his son, Prine Patterson and Prine’s mother, Annette Patterson; his son, Greyson Goodnight; his mother, Patricia Dillon; his stepdad, David Neuman; his brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and nephew, Lucas, Ali, Ella, Hattie, and Cotton Patterson.

Mack was preceded in death by his father, Perry Patterson; his maternal grandparents, Evelyn and Charles Dillon; his paternal grandparents, Mildred and George Patterson, and his faithful dogs, Molly and Guapo.

A memorial for Mack will be held August 26, 2023 at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, TX at 11 am (4801 La Crosse Avenue).

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please consider donating to The Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees Program. https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/plant-a-billion/