Ash Patterson

Ash Patterson of Port Jefferson, NY passed away on December 10th, 2024, at the age of 17. Born on March 6th, 2007 in Danang, Vietnam, Ash was transculturally adopted and lived a life of creativity and self-discovery.

Ash was a poet, avid reader, fashionista, LGBTQ, artist, lover of fruit, friend, nonbinary child, empath, thought villains are misunderstood, philosopher, psychologist, author, photographer, musician, creative, responsible, disorganized, loved.

Ash was drawn to poetry and writing as a form of self-expression. They shared their work with the public on a number of occasions, such as a public reading at the Nuyorican cafe in NYC, publication in the Mast, and winning the Silver Key award from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for their work Gravitational Uno Reverse, as well as an Honorable Mention for Foreigner. This dovetailed with their varied reading interests. From the first day home in the US, they would go to bed with multiple books, eventually reading 4-5 novels at any given time. They read science fiction, ancient Japanese poetry, LGBTQ literature, classic teen literature, fan fiction, but also philosophers, psychological theory, historical fiction and Asian literature. When we went on vacation when they were about 12, they packed almost all books and hardly any clothes.

Ash was proud of their “otherness”. As a member of the LGTBQ+ community, Ash was passionate about social justice for underrepresented populations and sought to combat injustice. They would use their poetry, artwork, and online presence to express themselves and connect with others who might feel like outsiders. To Ash’s friends, they were a therapist, guide, comedian, and the person to go to when life got a bit rough.

Ash is survived by mom Maria Nagan and stepdad Carlos Simmerling, father Eric Patterson and fiancée Christina Baker (and Rocky), siblings Andrew Patterson, Maria Simmerling and Paul Simmerling, grandparents Roberta Nagan, Denis and Carol Nagan, and Don and Carroll Patterson, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, teachers, librarians and community members.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Port Jefferson Free Library either at the library or through https://portjefflibrary.org/about/donate, noting that the gift is “in memory of Ash Patterson”. All donations will be used to create something meaningful at the teen center in Ash's memory.

A memorial service will be held at O. B. Davis Funeral Homes, located at 4839 Nesconset Highway, Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776. The service is scheduled for December 15, 2024, from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm. The service will be available via live stream at the following URL: https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/c2412669878753.