Robert Eugene Patterson

Robert Eugene Patterson, beloved family member and friend, passed away peacefully on March 26, 2025, at the age of 90 in Atlanta, GA. Born April 22, 1934, in Kansas City, MO Robert was the only son of William Leslie Patterson and Ann Marie (Stumfoll) Patterson. 

Robert was active in the early 1940s as a Cub Scout, assisting in scrap metal drives to “Win the War” and later as a Boy Scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout in 1950. Robert was also a Warrior at Camp Osceola in the scouting organization, Tribe of Mic-O-Say. Robert graduated from Raytown MO High School in 1952 and then briefly attended the University of Kansas. Robert was drafted in the US Army where he served as an electronic specialist on the Nike missile system at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. During his off-duty time in the army Robert and several of his unit participated in early exploration of “Bat Cave” in Grant, AL. This cave would come to be a State Park known as “Cathedral Caverns” and its owner, Jay Gurley, became a lifelong friend. This is where he met his future wife, Mary Ellen Campbell. They were married in 1960.

Robert was a self-trained Electronic Engineer, beginning his career before his army enlistment at the Vendo Corp. in Kansas City, Missouri, working on early Coca-Cola bottle machines. Later, he became a founder of MPH Industries, where he applied microwave engineering skills acquired during his army service to develop several pioneering police radar speed guns. He subsequently established his own electronic contract manufacturing business, Progress Instrument, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Robert was an avid private pilot who greatly enjoyed sport aviation and was a proud founding member of the “Possum Trot Air Force” in Independence, Missouri. The Possum Trot Air Force, a strictly social organization, famously had no hierarchy or rules of any kind. The group’s motto is, “We have found the enemy, and they is us!”.

Robert is survived by his two sons, Stephen (born 1963) and Carter (born 1965), and his four grandchildren, Lindsay, Trevor, Jordan, and Tara. 

A celebration of Robert’s life will be held at the Park Lawn Funeral Home, 8251 Hillcrest Rd, Kansas City, MO, on Sat, April 12, from 1pm-2pm followed by a private burial, next to his parents, at Floral Hills cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to a charity of your choice.