Lewisberry - George S. Patton Jr., grandson and namesake of the famed World War II general and son of former South Hamilton MA residents, Major General George S. Patton and his wife Joanne, succumbed peacefully to congestive heart failure at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, PA on Feb. 14, 2023. He was surrounded by siblings and by the Martinez family, his caregivers and loving "second family" with whom he lived and traveled for the past several years.

As all who knew George could attest, being mentally-challenged from birth never stopped him from living life to the fullest and defying boundaries of experience, contribution, and achievement that too often are expected to limit special-needs children and adults. After moving among postings dictated by his father's military career, George enrolled at the Devereux Foundation's facility in Devon, Pennsylvania. He visited his family regularly at their various stations, including Washington D.C., where he was introduced to riding and barrel racing at the Rock Creek Park Horse Center.

Upon his father's retirement in 1980, George rejoined his family to reside and work at their Green Meadows Farm in South Hamilton, where his innate gift with animals and especially horses flourished. A strapping 6'3" athlete, he competed in cross-country skiing and basketball under the sponsorship of Northeast Arc, and in 1987 won gold and silver medals at the equestrian Special Olympics held at the University of Notre Dame. Living independently with his friend and caregiver, John Michaud, George coached riders with disabilities at Windrush Farm, a therapeutic riding center in North Andover, MA. Meanwhile his talent for art was discovered and nurtured by Lenice Strohmeier of the New England Watercolor Society, and soon George was creating delicate watercolors for display and sale at galleries and at the Topsfield Fair.

In middle age, George realized his longstanding dream to live out West by moving to Colorado with his then caregivers, Gregg and Shirley Halliday. There he attended rodeos and volunteered at Praying Hands Ranch for special-needs children in Parker, CO. Cardiac health issues brought him to Pennsylvania in 2019 with Mo and Mandy Martinez and their children, where he continued his artistic and equestrian activities until just weeks before his death. A person of great humor and vitality, George will be dearly missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his mother Joanne; siblings Sister Margaret Georgina, Robert Patton and wife Victoria, Helen Patton, Benjamin Patton and wife Blair; and eight nephews.

Please consider supporting any of these fine institutions in George's memory: Special Olympics, Northeast Arc, CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology), Windrush Farm, the National Military Family Association, Special Friends/Friends Club, and Praying Hands Ranch. And please join his family and friends for a celebration of his life at the Hamilton Community House on Saturday, May 6, at 2 p.m.