Billy B. Patten

Husband, Father, Provider, Protector, and Teacher.  We honor Billy B. Patten with these attributes as he passed on May 5, 2018.  He passed in his home of almost 60 years living with Stephani Patten.  Born during the depression in Ada, Oklahoma.  He was the elder brother of two sons by William C. and Rema Patten.  At age 11, the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where Billy helped with the family business by delivering groceries on his bicycle in the Nob Hill area of Albuquerque.  After around 5 years living with his parents and brother at the Patten Food Store, they moved into a house on 2 acres in the Near North Valley area of Albuquerque.  Shortly after the move, they purchased 2 horses of which he loved to ride.  He enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating high school towards the end of WWII.  After that enlistment, he returned to Albuquerque where he met the love of his life; Rosemary Carpenter.  They would ride around the area on his Harley Davidson and soon got married on August 19, 1949.  They had a son, Larry in 1950 and shortly afterwards got recalled back into the Marines during the early part of the Korea War.  Because he could type, he avoided being deployed and remained at Camp Pendleton in California.  While stationed there, they had their second son, Willy in 1951.  They returned to Albuquerque when he was discharged from the Marine Corps where he started his studies at the University of New Mexico.  They purchased a modest home just north of Menual and east of Carlisle.  While Rosemary was carrying their third son, their first son died in a accidental drowning.  The birth of Steven came shortly after in 1952.  Billy graduated from the university and started teaching in the Albuquerque Public School system.  Billy and Rosemary purchased their second home up in the northeast heights west of Wyoming and south of Candelaria in Albuquerque.  He started his master's program at Michigan State and shortly afterwards, Billy and Rosemary purchased what would be their final home in 1959 at the extreme eastern area of Albuquerque that was the new popular area.  Juan Tabo was still a hilly dirt road.  During mid 1960 to mid 1961, Billy took his family to Ann Arbor, Michigan to complete his Master Degree.   After graduating, he brought the family back to the house they purchased in 1959.  The 60's was to be great years for Billy.  Their fourth son, Terry was born in 1963 and their first daughter, Cheryl was born in 1965.  He belong to the Shiners, the Elks Club, and the Masons During this time, Billy had started his Doctoral program at Arizona State.  The family moved to Tempe, Arizona for a year while Billy finished up his degree work.  He received his Doctors Degree in Educational Psychology in 1964.  They moved back to their house in Albuquerque where Billy continued to work in the APS as a guidance counselor.  In the late part of the 60's, he took a job with the State of New Mexico overlooking the Medicaid program for around 5 years.  He purchased a plane with his brother, got his pilot's license, then flew around the state of New Mexico performing the duties of his job.  He finally got tired of the driving time between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, so he left his job with the State of New Mexico and came back to APS to become a guidance counselor at Albuquerque High School where he worked until he retired.  Billy and Rosemary Patten loved to travel and they did so on a Honda Gold Wing, a class c recreational vehicle and finally a class a RV.  They traveled all but 2 states in the lower 48, into Canada, and up to Alaska.  They were so blessed that Billy prepared for his retirement that allowed them to enjoy their life after retirement. He along with Rosemary where cared for by their daughter, Stephani for the last number of years of their life's.  Billy passed peaceful in his bed on Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, 2018.

He is survived by 3 children, Stephani, Terry, and Cheryl; 8 grandchildren, Shanare, Melissa, Colleen, Whitney, Casey, Chad, Brooke, and Delaney; 5 great grandchildren, Janae, Zoe, Samuel, Samantha, and Caleb.

Daniels Family Funeral Services

7601 Wyoming Blvd NE

Albuquerque, NM 87109