Theodore B. Patchen, Jr., 94, passed away on February 19, 2017. He leaves his wife of 70 years, Connie (Butwell) Patchen; daughters Laine Roundy of Woodbury CT, and Corinne Martin of Peru, MA; three grandchildren, Marguerite McNaughten of Chesterfield, VA; Russell Martin of Windham, NH; and Pam Martin of Dublin, PA; and two great-grandchildren. He was born in New Haven, CT, and raised in Torrington; son of Theodore Patchen Sr. and Maude (Lasher) Patchen of Waterbury, CT. He attended Torrington High School, then Williston Academy, graduating in 1942. Afterwards, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he served as a Captain and navigator on a B-24 bomber during World War II. They flew 26 sorties, and were shot down on April 8, 1945 while targeting a railroad bridge at Vipitano, in northern Italy. He and the surviving crew members were captured and then walked to Moosburg prison camp, south of Munich. He was a POW until liberated by American soldiers at the end of the war. Ted Patchen returned home, married, graduated from Wesleyan University in 1949, and raised a family. He worked for the Traveler’s Insurance Company for over 30 years in Philadelphia, Manchester, NH, and in Hartford, CT. He built a summer cottage at Lake Wallenpaupack in PA, and the family spent summers there for over 30 years. He loved sailing, music and enjoyed nature immensely.
Remembering members of the Williston Northampton community