Eric William Patterson
Eric William Patterson died November 1, 2016 in Montreal, Quebec. His parents Marion (Lamb) Patterson and Lewis J. (Pat) Patterson preceded him in death. Eric was born July 17, 1954 in Rogers City and then moved with his family to Port Cartier on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec in 1960, where his father was employed by Quebec Cartier Mining Company, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel.
Eric went to high school in Port Cartier and in Montreal. Eric’s first employment was for the Cartier Railway Company between Port Cartier and Fermont, first as a track worker then later as a train dispatcher. There, Eric learned to speak French and developed a lifelong love of trains and railroads.
He graduated from McGill University in Montreal and then earned a MBA at Sherbrooke University in Quebec. Eric’s stellar career started with Bombardier Transport, a Canadian multinational, first in human resources and later in program management. Eric worked on major train systems for New York City and the UK along with stints in Germany, Switzerland, China, Brussels, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, Australia for Downer Rail, among others.
He is survived by his wife Anna, his son Kael and daughter Karyna, four siblings, Judy Wenzel of Ann Arbor, Mary Beall of Camden, Maine, Mark Patterson (Patricia Barrowman) of Richmond, Quebec, John Patterson (Madeleine Langlois) of Montreal and eight nieces and nephews.
Eric suffered a stroke in 2013, but handled its aftermath with humor, grace and courage. Along with trains and among many other things, Eric loved American hamburgers, baseball, soccer, good books, politics, big challenges and most of all—his family.
A memorial in celebration of his life is being planned for a later date.