Donald R. Patch

Middletown, - Donald R. Patch, 78, of 578 Wolcott Avenue, Middletown, died Saturday, May 31, 2003 at Heatherwood Nursing and Subacute Center Newport, RI. He was the husband of Virginia Kirwin Patch. Born in Honolulu, HI on Jul. 25, 1924, he was the son of the late Navy Capt. Ernest L. Patch and the late Anna Nagel Patch. Mr. Patch was a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.He served with the US Navy for 26 years before retiring in 1969 as a Lt. Commander. He served in the Naval Weather Service overseas in Puerto Rico, Guam and Hawaii. During the Korean War he served aboard the cruisers USS Springfield and the USS Toledo.He was a member of St. Georges Episcopal Church, Newport, where he sang in the church choir for 30 years and was also a volunteer with the churchs soup kitchen. He was an avid scuba diver and was active in the Boy Scouts of America and the Explorer Scouts. In addition to his wife, he is survived by one daughter Marianne Patch of San Diego, CA; two sons, Carl Patch of New York, NY and Keith Patch of Lexington, MA; two brothers, Navy Cdr. Arthur Patch of Vallejo, CA and Capt. William Hatch of Leesburg, VA and four grandchildren. Services are private. Donations may be made in his memory to Alzheimers Association, 245 Waterman Street, Suite 306, Providence, RI 02906.