William "Todd" Patterson

He was 56 years old. He continued to persevere even after his cancer diagnosis. He passed away at home with his father by his side. Along with his father by his side, he had a cheerleader and very special Uncle, Ronnie Patterson who walked this entire journey with him from the day he moved to Winston Salem, NC in 1990.

Todd was born on August 18, 1968 to William Al Patterson and Nancy Patterson Coleman. He has two siblings, a very special brother named Mark Patterson and his sister, Tracy Patterson Olson whom he loved dearly. He was born in Winston Salem, NC and later moved with his mother to Rapid City, SD in 1978. His uncle, Danny Palmer became a very important person in his life, fixing all of his cars and just looking out for him. He went by various nicknames, some of those including “Iceman”, “Uncle Teddy”, “Brother Bear”, “T O double D”, “Todd Father” and the most common one being “Toddy.” Basketball was his passion and in 1984, he attended St. Martins Academy until he graduated in 1987. Todd was a standout point guard for SMA where he was a 2-time all-conference player in the Black Hills Conference in which his aunt, Sally Palmer never missed a game. Duane Ticknor became a very important person in his life as he came to watch all of Todd’s high school basketball games. He then took Todd under his wing and recruited him to come play at the college level for National College in Rapid City, SD right after high school. Todd became the starting point guard for the Mavericks. He played for 4 years at National College where he earned a Paralegal degree. His love for basketball never ceased.

In later years, he would meet Scott Olson, his brother-in-law, only to find out that he was a diehard UNC Tarheels fan and the two would banter back and forth as Todd remained dedicated to his Wake Forest Demon Deacons. After college, Todd decided to go live in Winston Salem again to be close to his family down there. Again, he furthered his education and attended Winston Salem State University and earned a Sociology degree. All of his degrees were important to him, but his true passion was to be an entrepreneur and have his own business. He was in luck because while working for pizza joints, specifically Papa Johns, he met a lifelong friend in Doug, aka “Doogie.” The two started Clean Cut Lawncare and thrived. Todd continued his business almost up until he got sick. My brother’s heart was as big as his mouth and many who knew him, knew he could talk a good game of “smack.” Perhaps, that’s what we all loved about him the most. Everyone would dish it right back. At other times, you might see him jamming to his favorite 80’s hair band and rocking the air guitar.

Todd was the middle child, and it seemed to fit him perfectly. He looked out for his younger sister, Tracy, in more ways than could be imagined. Todd shared a bond with his siblings that will never go unnoticed or forgotten. He would always say, “You can mess with me but if you mess with my family, we will have problems.” Happy to have shared this life with him are his parents, William Al Patterson and Nancy Patterson Coleman, Mark Alan (older brother), Tracy Olson (younger sister), his only nephew, Carson Todd Olson, Scott Olson (brother-in-law), aunts and uncles, numerous cousins on both the Letner, Palmer and Patterson side as well as friends.

Todd is preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents, two uncles, Robert Letner and Danny Palmer, his stepdad, Clifford Coleman, his niece, Erin Olson, his dog, Steeler and a very special Aunt, Linda Patterson.

My brother lived his life with the motto, “I did it my way” as well as “Long live the 80’s hair bands.”

No services will be held at this time. Please feel free to donate to the Autism Society in North Carolina or South Dakota in Todd's honor.