Calvin Charles Patten

2021-10-19T12:39:14-05:00
Marine Corp Badge
  • Name: Calvin Charles Patten
  • Location of Birth: Grand Rapids, Minnesota
  • Date of Birth: July 15, 1925
  • Date of Death: August 5, 1991 (66 years old)
  • Parents: Otto and Mae Patten
  • High School and Class: 1943 - Grand Rapids High School, Grand Rapids, Minnesota
  • College:
  • Highest Rank: PFC (Private First Class)
  • Branch: Marine Corp
  • Other Branch:
  • Date Sworn In: July 7, 1943
  • Place Sworn In: Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Date of Discharge: June 2, 1945
  • Place of Discharge: Marine Corps Base - San Diego, California
  • Units and Locations:
    Start Date End Date Unit(s) and Location(s) Served
    South Pacific
  • Military Awards:

  • Military Highlights:
    Calvin fought in the South Pacific--most notably on Guadalcanal where he was a part of the second wave of Marines to land on the island. He eventually contracted malaria and was sent stateside where, after medical treatment, he was discharged.

  • Wars Involved:
    World War II

  • MIA / POW:

  • Civilian Life:
    Calvin was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and was lifelong resident. He attended schools here.

    Upon returning home, Calvin married Helen Robinson on July 5, 1945, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They raised one daughter and three sons in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He obtained a Master Plumbers License and operated Patten's Plumbing and Heating in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

    Calvin was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a life member of the American Legion and a life member of the Military Order of Cooties, all of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

    He was preceded in death by his wife in 1988, and brothers Denton and Thomas. Surviving relatives include daughter Susan Cechini; sons, Gary, Daniel, and James; one sister Jean Erskine; brother, Willard; eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

    Article written by Mary Lou Aurell in the Grand Rapids Herald Review:

    "Calvin Patten, who died in August, was known throughout the Grand Rapids community for his caring and generosity. His four children mirrored these characteristics when they gathered for their father's funeral and to dispose of his belongings.
    They wanted to donate the food which was left in Patten's apartment to someone who needed it. Then they discovered a young man who , though handicapped and down and out, humbly claimed he needed nothing. This young man, who is handicapped, was living in an empty apartment with very few possessions.
    Gary, Dan and Jim Patten and Sue Patten Cechini decided to give all of their father's belongings, except some very personal items, to him to honor their father's memory and to continue the legacy he had left.
    The Patten children moved their father's furniture and other household belongings to completely furnish the young man's empty apartment. They even washed the linen before they made the bed. They filled his cupboards and refrigerator with the abundance of food Patten left behind.
    Then, as a finishing touch, the brothers and their sister purchased a "man's plant" to accent the apartment and placed a huge basket of fruit on the dining table.
    The young man was over-whelmed. He was known as someone who would give away his last dollar to help another.
    Now someone with a similar reputation, though dead, had done the same for him.
    The young man does not want to be identified."

    Buried in the Max Cemetery at Max, Minnesota.

  • Tribal Affiliation(s):

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