Obituary of Claire Patterson

Claire Patterson died peacefully on Monday March 4, 2019 at the Oaks at Denville Healthcare Center. Her  loving family was nearby. She was 95.

Born in Morristown to the late John and Grace Zieger, she was a Denville resident with most of her life spent on, in, or near Cedar Lake. Claire touched the lives of young children as a Preschool teacher at Hartmann School for 18 years. Later she operated a nature oriented daycare sharing the beauty of Cedar Lake and Bald Hill with children.   

Claire and Henry Donald Patterson married on August 25, 1946 and raised two sons together. She was a member of Friends in the Library, Denville Woman’s Club, Cedar Lake Property Owners Corporation, Mountain Lakes 55+ Group and Indian Creek Nature Center and served as a Den Mother and community volunteer. Claire was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend who will remain in our hearts forever.

Left to continue her legacy of unconditional love and laughter is her beloved husband, Henry; her  children, Tom Patterson and  his wife Mary and Rich Patterson and his wife Marion; her  grandchildren, Dan Patterson, Nancy Patterson and her husband Brian Ohlen, James Patterson and his wife Kristina, and Sally Hiryak and her husband Chris; her niece Marie Zieger and her husband Jack Ives; and many more extended family and friends.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Oaks of Denville and Kindred Hospice for the wonderful care they provided in the final weeks of her life.

Her spirit is with the birds that fly, with the wind whispering through the trees and in the golden meadow where flowers sway and lift their faces to the light.   It is in a child's sweet face and in the animals and the sea.

Services will  be private. Please leave a condolence or memory to share with Claire’s family. Memorial Donations are being accepted to Protect Our Wetlands, Water and Woods, or POWWW, P.O. Box 438, Denville, NJ 07834.