William Franklin Patton

New Orleans, LA - William F. Patton, U.S.C.G. Retired, 84, died Sunday, March 28, 2004, in Louisiana. A native of Buncombe County, he was the son of the late Frank McDowell and Cornelia Frady Patton and husband of the late Beatrice Nichols Patton, who died in 2002. He was also preceded in death by two sisters, Annice Patton Hollingsworth and Lila Patton Buck and his brother, James Gordon Patton. He is survived by three daughters, Alice P. Edwards, and her husband Harvey, of Charlotte, Velma Patton of Greenville, NC and Betty Schrepfer, and her husband Joseph, of Lake Charles, LA; three grandchildren, Alicia Edwards Firnschild of Atlanta, Sean William Mahaffy of Rockville, Md. and Erin Alexandra Schrepfer of Lake Charles. He also is survived by beloved friends, Yvette and Wade Ponthier, and family, of New Orleans and Gerry Tynan of New Orleans. Mr. Patton was a W.W. II Navy veteran, serving in the Pacific Theatre and retired with 23 years active Coast Guard service. He was employed as a Marine Surveyor for J.K. Tynan and was a member of the Masonic Order, Ocean Lodge #405, Morehead City, NC for 51 years. A funeral service will be held at 11 am Friday in the chapel of Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian. Burial will follow in West Chapel Cemetery. Masonic Rites will be conducted by the Biltmore Masonic Lodge #446. The lodge will open at 10:00 a.m. Military rites will be conducted by the Buncombe County Veterans Council Memorial Team. His family will receive friends from 6:00 pm until 8:30 pm Thursday at the funeral home on Long Shoals Road. Memorials may be made to the Masonic Home for Children, Oxford, NC 27565.