Services held for retired Denton Chronicle publisher, community booster Fred Patterson

Services held for retired Denton Chronicle publisher, community booster Fred Patterson

FRED WILLIAM PATTERSON
DENTON – Fred Patterson, longtime Denton Record-Chronicle publisher and patron of the arts in Denton, died Feb. 19. He was 92.
Patterson had two successful careers, one as an ad salesman and newspaper publisher, the other as a patron of the arts and leader in the establishment of the arts in Denton.
He rose from ad salesman at the Denton Record-Chronicle to become publisher and eventually owner with his wife, Patsy.
His contributions to the development of the arts in Denton were recognized by President Ronald Reagan, who wrote: “If there is one thing that shines through the list of everything you’ve done for the visual and performing arts in Denton, it’s devotion to your community. How heartening to come across dedication like yours, and to hear about what the cultural climate can do for a community and for the nation. So many thanks.”
That accolade from the president came in 1986 when Patterson was presented the Community Arts Recognition Award (CARA) by the Greater Denton Arts Council.
Patterson was born on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 1929, in Decatur to Carrie Lou and James Venor Patterson.
After graduating from Decatur High School he went on to graduate from the University of Texas with a BBA in 1952. He was active in Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and was in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).
He moved to Denton in 1955, where he joined the sales service department at Moore Business Forms. He married Patsy Cross on Sept. 6, 1958.
Patterson started in the advertising department at the Denton Record-Chronicle in 1958 and in 1960 became the ad manager. Riley Cross, owner and publisher of the newspaper, died in 1970, and his wife, Vivian Cross, Patsy’s mother, became the owner and publisher. Fred was elected assistant publisher in 1970.
Vivian Cross retired in 1986, and Fred became the publisher. He and Patsy became the newspaper’s owners. In 1999, they sold the paper to A.H. Belo Corp., publishers of The Dallas Morning News, and Patterson retired.
His philanthropic and community leadership achievements are exemplified in the many honors he has been given.
In 1986, he received the Community Arts Recognition Award from the Greater Denton Arts Council, which he helped found. The award was for outstanding contributions to the arts in Denton.
In 1995-96, Patterson received the Josh Award, the president’s award from the Denton Community Theatre.
He chaired a committee to raise funds for the renovation of the Campus Theatre when Interstate Theatres decided to close the movie house. Previously, the city’s theater group was using an old fire station called the Fire House Theater. Patterson’s committee raised $1.8 million.
Later, he raised $55,000 to lead a drive to buy a new Steinway piano for the Campus Theatre. A member of the Steinway family came to Denton for the installation of the piano and autographed it. It is stored in a specially built room at the theater.
In the 1980s, Denton needed a place for the visual arts, and Patterson co-chaired the drive to raise money to renovate an old city power plant for use as a Center for the Visual Arts. The Greater Denton Arts Council later renamed the facility the Patterson-Appleton Center for the Visual Arts in honor of Patterson and Roy Appleton Jr., general manager of the Record-Chronicle. In addition, the Pattersons established the Riley Cross Memorial Garden at the center in honor of the late owner and publisher of the Record-Chronicle.
In 1977, Patterson headed the Chamber of Commerce Appearance Committee for beautification of the city. The committee planted 170 redbud trees on Carroll Boulevard.
In 1982, Patterson was co-founder of the Redbud Festival, predecessor of the Spring Fling, which later morphed into the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival.
Beyond the arts, Patterson contributed to and led fundraising for many other community projects.
He was chairman of the drive to establish the Historical Park on Carroll Boulevard and Mulberry behind the county administration building. He and his team raised $525,000 to move the historic Bayless-Selby House to the park and restore it.
He was chairman of a committee to raise money to establish television Channel 2 for Denton after it was discovered that the educational channel had been available to Denton. He and Appleton led that effort. The channel later was sold to KERA in Dallas. He also was vice president of the Friends of WRR, the radio station owned by the city of Dallas.
Patter was founder and co-chair of the Denton Holiday Lighting Association, which provided Christmas decorations for the Square.
He was a member of the board of the Texas Chamber of Commerce in Austin, the Denton Amphitheatre Association, the Denton Tree Board, the Denton Main Street Association and the Denton Chamber of Commerce, among others. 
He served as president and campaign manager of the United Way of Denton County. He was vice chairman of the Volunteer Council at the Denton State School for the mentally handicapped.
His financial leadership was also applied to Denton’s two universities.
In 1980, Patterson was involved in the organization of “An Evening at the NTSU Symphony” that raised money for the School of Music at the University of North Texas. In 1981, he helped establish a Pops Concert series by the North Texas State University Symphony to raise scholarships for the music school and money to send the NT Symphony to perform for the Texas Music Educators Conference. He was co-founder of the Friends of the Symphony at UNT.
In 1985, he received a University of North Texas presidential citation. He became an honorary member of SAI, the national music fraternity.
Patterson served as the community representative on search committees for dean of the school of music, for provost at North Texas, and to fill the job of vice president for marketing and communications at UNT.
He served on the President’s Council at UNT and the North Texas Athletics Trustees. He also served on the President’s Council at Texas Woman’s University and as a member of the TWU Foundation.
In addition, he was a life member of the University of Texas Ex-Students Association in Austin.
He served as president of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the Governing Board of the Denton Regional Medical Center. He received the Otis Fowler Award from the Denton Chamber of Commerce in 1982.
He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Sons of the Republic of Texas and the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Patterson was a member since 1972 of the St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder.
He was preceded in death by his wife Patsy, who died in 2017.
He is survived by sons Bill Patterson and Riley Patterson; five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and other relatives.
Services were held at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church on Feb. 23. Burial followed at Roselawn Memorial Park in Denton.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 300 West Oak Street Denton, Texas 76201; 940-387-3897.