U of G bench commemorates the life of Robert Patten
The bench that commemorates the life of my father sits outside Fire and Police Services on Trent Lane. It is right next door to the red brick maintenance building where dad started work in 1954 as a carpenter for the Federated Colleges.
Soon after starting as a carpenter, Robert Robson Patten, known to his friends as Bob, joined the College Fire Service as a volunteer fireman.
Dad would have to drop what he was doing whenever the alarm sounded and run to the fire truck to respond to an emergency. He did this until March 11, 1970 when they responded to a routine fire call on College Avenue in front of the Ontario Veterinary College.
My dad and John Gregory, who fondly called my dad “Robby,” worked together at the Fire Service. Their positions involved holding on to the back of the fire truck.
On that day, the fire truck was traveling on College Avenue across Gordon Street when they were hit by an egg truck traveling up Gordon Street.This accident changed the law — it is no longer legal for firemen to ride outside the cab.The fire truck went end-over-end twice in midair and my dad and John Gregory literally flew through the air.
John’s leg was shattered; dad’s head hit the cement curb. From an office window, a lady saw the accident and raced out to cover him up until the ambulance arrived.She later told me that he said to her, “The sun is in my eyes.” Those were the last words he ever spoke.He had numerous injuries that healed, but the worst was brain injury. He was unconscious for over five years until he passed away on Dec. 19, 1975 in St. Joseph’s Continuing Care in his 65th year.
He was a grandfather to Jason and Jacquie and great grandfather to Domino and Rogue, all of whom he never knew, but would have adored.
He was the greatest dad. He used to take me to work occasionally in the summer; we would walk all over campus along with his heavy ring of keys that would open almost every door and his trusty tool box that would fix almost anything.
I remember old red brick buildings to the left of the administration building that had glass cases filled with taxidermied animals: a badger, squirrel, fox, lynx, herons, eagle, peregrine falcon, and more. They were mesmerizing for a child.
Once he had to repair something on the upstairs level of President McLaughlin’s beautiful home. Earlier that morning, a tradesman had left big chunks of mud on the plush stair carpet; dad cleaned it up before we left.
He was well known on campus and a good friend to all who knew him, a Geordie from Newcastle upon Tyne, England, who loved to laugh and was always game to hear a funny story. His garden of poppies, gladiolus, and dahlias were his passion. He was a good husband to Eleanor and dad to Ken and I.
He served overseas as a soldier with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps during the Second World War for five years. He never liked talking about his war experiences.
I never heard him swear or take the Lord’s name in vain. He didn’t drink, but on Fridays he bought a pack of cigarettes — Rothmans — which he enjoyed on the weekend.When the accident happened 47 years ago, it was the worst day of my life. I remember it like it was yesterday. On behalf of myself, Diane Roberta Patten, and my cousin Steve Mogford (a retired firefighter from the Toronto Fire Service, who worked with the U of G Fire Service to bring this project to fruition), we would like to thank the University of Guelph for making this beautiful bench a reality, erected in memory of my dear father Robert Robson Patten and his sacrifice for his community.
Photo courtesy of Diane Patten