While his outspoken nature sometimes got Dick Patten into trouble, no one could question the loyalty he showed and the contributions he made to the community before passing away last week at age 68.
Patten, a former city councilor and state representative, suffered a massive heart attack at his home on the Heights, according to his lone sibling, Debra Patten.
“He was a good brother,” Debra Patten said. “He always cared about people. Anything he could do for people, he would do it.”
Each year, as technology created more distractions and community bonds began to fray, Patten sought to bring individuals together over a 50-year span in two big ways:
As a longtime member of the Grange, he was the torch that lit the Christmas tree each year at the State House Plaza, taking full control and ensuring the colorful tradition would be around, at least as long as he was.
He was the longtime chairman of the Concord Christmas Parade, raising funds, pre-planning and choosing a grand marshal, who’d ride in a slow-moving caravan featuring bands and floats through the Heights, Patten’s lifelong and beloved home.
And when the local community television station – now ConcordTV – opened for business more than 20 years ago, Patten was in on the ground-floor, looking to reach his community through interviews and commentary. His “Around Town” show is still going.
“That was his vehicle for talking to people from the time (the TV station) started,” said Doris Ballard, the former director at ConcordTV. “He spoke to hundred and hundreds of people, and no one ever did a show for that long. He was still doing it remotely and giving it to the station to play. He did a home-spun type interview about things he loved about Concord.”
For the past four years, right up until the COVID quarantine began, Patten had his own radio show as well, broadcasting on WICX 102.7, a Catholic station, from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.
“As soon as we came on the air, he volunteered to do an interview show,” said Fr. Raymond Ball, the priest at Patten’s church.
Patten was also passionate about politics. In Ward 8, he served three times on the City Council and four terms as a state representative. Plus, he was the chairman for the supervisors of the checklist for nearly 30 years.
During his long career making an impact in Concord, Patten faced some controversy. He was reprimanded for phoning a police officer who had given a friend of Patten’s a traffic ticket in 2012. A judge dismissed a stalking petition against him in 2013.
The latest storm surfaced after Patten lost the Democratic primary for state representative in 2018 to Safiya Wazir, a young mother and former refugee from Afghanistan.
Wazir went on to win the general election and still hold the seat. Patten didn’t take the defeat gracefully.
“A lot of out-of-Concord people are getting everything,” he said.
Patten’s comments upset some city officials, including Mayor Jim Bouley, who skipped the Christmas Parade, held three weeks after the midterm election.
Those who knew Patten best, though, saw both sides of the man, one flawed, the other generous.
“Dick was not perfect, not a polished person,” Fr. Ball said. “But he was genuine and sincere, and he cared about people. He was a sensitive person, and that translated into him being sensitive toward others.”