Ethner Levi PATTERSON

Notes:

He married a woman named Virginia R Bean in Los Angeles on 28 Jun 1929.

In the 1930 census, he was living with his father and apparent step-mother, George and Ethel Patterson in Tracy, California. He was a garage mechanic and is shown as a widower.

In the 1940 census, he and his family lived in a rented apartment at 538 Lyon Street. He was not employed but apparently had been the superintendent of a cabinet shop. He had earned $1440 in 1939.

He registered for the draft in San Francisco in October of 1940. He lived at 538 Lyon Street and claimed to be employed by the National Youth Industries of Mission Street in San Francisco. He listed his wife, Ruth M. Patterson, same address, as the person who would always know his address.

An article in the 23 Jan 1938 edition of the Oakland Tribune:

Police Feed Family of Man They Seek

While police searched last night for Ethmer Patterson, 30, wanted for passing fictiitious checks, the cared for his wife and four children, found destitute in Patterson’s San Francisco home, 668 Lyon Street. Officers went there yesterday with a warrant charging him with passing two bad checks totaling $38 on John Hokokian, store proprietor.

They found his wife, Ruth, and Patricia, 5, Alton, 4, Carolyn, 22 months, and Clayton, 7 months, in an unheated room without food. Mrs. Patterson said her husband had left them three days ago.

Officers took groceries to the family.

An article the same day in the San Francisco Examiner:

When a grocer by the name of Hokokian told the police about two bum checks a guy had passon on him yesterday, he only thought he was going to get even with the so and so.

He didn’t know that he was going to practically save the lives of a woman and four kids!

Hokokian - his first name is John and he has his shop at 1901 McAllister Street - told police that Ethmer Patterson, of 668 Lyon Street, had gotten $$28 change from him on two checks totaling $38, the checks had come back, and he wanted Patterson arrested.

That’s what took Policemen John Badagliacco and Noel Kellegher to the Lyon Street address yesterday afternoon. They didn’t find Patterson there - but they did find the most pitiful case of suffering and want that they’d seen in all of their official careers!

They found 28 year-old Mrs. Patterson. They found her four children, the youngest 2, the eldest barely turned 7. All five were hungry. They hadn’t eaten for days, they said.

Worse, the gas and electricity had been turned off because the Pattersons hadn’t paid their bill for a long time. In short, Mrs. Patterson and the kids had no light, no heat, no water, no money, no food, no husband and father and no hope!

Patterson, the wife said, hadn’t been there since Thursday. That was the day Hokokian said the bad checks were cashed. She said she didn’t know where he was or what had become of him.

Policeman Badagliacco and Kellegher forgot their immediate mission, forgot vanished Patterson, forgot everything sabe that here was a spot where help was needed before anything else was done.

They telephoned Park station. Police, there, in turn telephoned the P. G. & E. and asked them to turn the gas and electricity back on at the Pattersons’. “We will guarantee the bills,” the officers said.

They then telephoned Lieutenant Harry Riley, big shot of the police department’s Big Brother movement. Riley worked quickly and groceries and meat and other needs were on the way to the woman and four children.

By dark, the wolf had gone howling from the front door, thanks to the bluecoats. Mrs. Patterson and the four little Pattersons were sure of food, light, heat, water for the weekend at least.

But they weren’t sure of Papa Patterson. Because, when they’d taken care of the other matters, the police remembered that they were after him. Even if they find him, he probably will not be home for the weekend.

Died:
as Levi Harold Patterson, b. 16 Jun 1907 in Colorado

Ethner married Ruth Mendina THOMPSON about Dec 1931 in San Francisco County, California. Ruth (daughter of Thomas Anderson THOMPSON and Rangdi Olsdatter ELLESTAD) was born on 18 Mar 1904 in Todd County, Minnesota; died on 28 Jun 1943 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Patricia Ruth PATTERSON was born on 16 Aug 1932 in San Francisco County, California; died on 4 Aug 2015 in Sacramento County, California.
2. Alton Ethmer PATTERSON was born on 10 Dec 1933 in San Francisco County, California; died on 20 Jan 2016.
3. Carolyn Ann PATTERSON was born on 10 Apr 1936 in Lassen County, California; died on 1 Apr 2022 in California.
4. Clayton Grant PATTERSON was born on 24 Jun 1937 in San Francisco County, California; died on 17 Jun 2009 in Napa County, California.
5. George Nuel PATTERSON was born on 1 May 1939 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California; died on 23 May 1994 in Calaveras County, California.