John Craig Patterson

John ‘Craig’ Patterson was born February 26, 1949, at KU Medical School Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas. He was the younger child of Dr. John Robert (just “Jack”) and Iva Doris (just “Doris”) Patterson, the former a pediatrician and the latter a wife & homemaker. In the tradition of both his parents, he never used his first name. To others and to himself, he was always just “Craig.” He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1967, where he developed a legacy as a brilliant illustrator and cartoonist, moving to Lawrence soon after to study architecture at the University of Kansas, graduating in 1972.

Attending KU and becoming an architect were both childhood dreams; the first was a goal formed by the romantic view of the university campus on Mt. Oread along the oft-taken journey from his boyhood home in Fairway to his favorite Aunt’s home in Richland; the second presented itself as a calling to transform his wonderful gifts as an illustrator and a later notorious talent for perspective into something helpful to the world. That calling would last a lifetime. Craig’s career as an architect spanned nearly 50 years of practice, (47 of those as sole proprietor of CP&Associates/Architects and Planners), during which time he shaped community spaces in Lawrence and Kansas City as much as he helped shape the community of architects who live there, both in his own work, and in the gentle (if long-winded) voice of critique he instilled in the back of many young architects’ minds as their mentor. Craig’s plans for the way people “engage” (his favorite word) with the built environment around him are everywhere we look in his adopted hometown: the landscaping of the ‘Train Park’ in Old West Lawrence, the masterful reuse of the Old English Lutheran Church at 11 ^th & New Hampshire, and the saving the Union pacific Depot in North Lawrence from demolition.

Although his professional persona was well-known, he was perhaps best loved for his private roles; a husband of 34 years to Anne, a father to Patrick, Ian, & Anna, a father-in-law to Rosanne, brother-in-law to Stephen, a best friend to Jack, a church & community photographer, a Kansas historian, a conservationist of historic buildings, an advocate for libraries, a vocal supporter of local artists & musicians, and a friend to anyone with time to spare. Far from convinced that his unwavering commitment to his vocation, his family, and his community would come to an end, he ultimately succumbed to an unexpected cancer over a short period of time. He died at home on the morning of October 27, surrounded by his family, home from near and far to enjoy being near him in his final days. As a testament to his effect on the people around him, even his hospice nurse recognized him as a kind mentor from a shared hobby in a former life, saying upon her arrival “I read your name in my book, and I hoped it was you… and then I hoped it wasn’t.”

A memorial service for Craig will be held at 1:00pm on Saturday, November 11th at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lawrence with private inurnment at Pioneer Cemetery at a later date.

The family suggests memorials in Craig’s name to Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.