Craig L. Patterson Sr., who, with his wife, Pat, owned and managed the East Hampton Bowl for 35 years, died of cardiovascular disease on March 19 at the age of 81 in Largo, Fla. He had retired to nearby Indian Rocks Beach in the Tampa area after selling the popular lanes in 2013.
“We bought the Bowl as an investment,” Mrs. Patterson said during a recent telephone conversation. “We didn’t intend to manage it, but fate had other plans. . . . It not only got people through the winter here, as you say, it got them through the summer too. Whenever it rained, it was either go to the movies or go bowling. . . . We moved here from Port Jefferson. He loved East Hampton — it was a beautiful place to raise our children.”
In the couple’s tenure, the Bowl was a lively place, with competitive men’s, women’s, and mixed leagues, talented high school teams, fund-raisers, and live music. To help accustom young children to the demanding sport, Mrs. Patterson had the gutters lined with carpet rolls when they bowled so they wouldn’t be discouraged by gutter balls.
The Bowl was a family-run business, Mrs. Patterson emphasized, managed at one time by her husband’s younger brother, Keith. The couple’s elder son, Craig L. (Chip) Patterson, she said, worked at the Bowl from his early teens through and beyond college. “The workings of the pin-setting machines fascinated him from an early age and led to a successful career in engineering and technology.”
Stephen M. Patterson, the couple’s younger son, who began working for his father at the age of 13 and who continued working for and with him for pretty much the remainder of the family’s time here, said in an email, “My father was an amazing man — he had a huge influence on me, as my father, my boss, my mentor, my business partner, and my best friend. . . . He taught me how to be an entrepreneur, a builder, a businessman, a father, a spouse, and a grandfather, and he taught me to give back to society. He loved music, humor, the Mets. . . . He was always supportive and encouraging. I will miss him every day.”
“His smile lit up the room,” said the Pattersons’ daughter, Cheryl M. Greer. “He would talk with and encourage anyone and everyone. He was known for his kindness, his sense of humor, and unwavering spirit. He used to say, ‘You’re either growing or you’re dying.’ He was always ‘just getting started.’ My dad was an optimist, full of life always. He loved my mom and all of us with all his heart. We are so blessed because of him.”
“He was a great man,” said East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen, who worked at the Bowl for Mr. Patterson from the age of 14 to 20, “until I became a cop. . . . He was like a second dad to me, a mentor. He had a strong influence on my life. The Bowl blossomed under Craig and Stephen’s management. He was a wonderful man.”
Rudy DeSanti, the former owner of Dreesen’s Market, said of his friend: “Even though we lived in the same town, we really got to know each other on vacation in the Bahamas. From then on, we socialized quite a bit, at local restaurants and at great parties at each other’s homes. . . . We will cherish all the laughs and good times we had with Craig and miss him dearly.”
Mr. Patterson was born on May 9, 1943, in Waterbury, Conn., to Everett M. and Katherine B. Patterson. He studied at the Staunton Military Academy, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University in Brookville, earning a bachelor’s degree in physics and master’s degrees in business administration and accounting there.
Upon graduating, he became a decorated naval aviator, flying multi-engine planes off the decks of the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Intrepid during the Vietnam War, after which he oversaw UpIsland residential and commercial real estate development projects — particularly in the Nassau hamlet of Harbor Hills and in the Village of Belle Terre — before moving his family to East Hampton in 1978.
Here, Mr. Patterson became a member of the Maidstone Gun Club, helped found the Kiwanis Club, and was instrumental in bringing the Special Olympics to East Hampton. He was also, his family said, an avid supporter of the L.G.B.T.Q. community.
In addition to his wife, Pat, to whom he was married for 60 years, he is survived by a daughter, Cheryl M. Greer of Potomac Falls, Va., two sons, Craig L. Patterson Jr. of Bethesda, Md., Stephen M. Patterson of Scottsdale, Ariz., a brother, Keith S. Patterson of Tampa, seven grandchildren — Christopher T. Patterson, Ashleigh E. Mather, Katherine A. Ewing, Stephen M. Patterson II, Nicholas C. Patterson, Gabriella L. Greer, and Harrison J. Greer — two great-grandchildren — Ellianna I. Mather and Aurora R. Patterson — a nephew, Thomas J. Doyle of East Hampton and New York City, and two nieces, Suzanne Bye of Vero Beach, Fla., and Amy Pardue of Golden, Colo.
Mr. Patterson was predeceased by a brother, Paul Patterson.
A celebration of his life is to be held at the Randolph Farms Condominium Association in Largo over the Memorial Day weekend. His family has suggested that donations may be made in his name to the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, or to the Military Officers Association of America.
