Sergeant (E-5) Jayton Daniel Patterson, USMC, 26, died Saturday, Jan. 15, 2005 while on duty in the Al Anbar Province, Iraq, in western side of Euphrates. Sgt. Patterson was due to return home in two weeks to his wife, Stephanie B. Patterson, and their 15-month-old daughter, Clarie Michelle Patterson. Born in Franklin; he was the son of Frank K. Patterson and Sharon Worrell Patterson of Sedley.

Sgt. Patterson loved his country and served his first four years with the U.S. Marines in Washington, D.C. as part of the White House security detail prior to being deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit to Iraq in June 2004, hitting the ground in the Middle East early July. Jayton was a graduate of Tidewater Academy in Wakefield and attended college prior to enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps, was an avid fox hunter, fishing and sports enthusiast and a member of Millfield Baptist Church in Ivor.

Sgt. Patterson is also survived by his brother, Hunter B. Patterson; sister, Mattie M. Patterson, both of Sedley; paternal grandmother, Martha P. Patterson of Franklin; mother and father-in-law, Debbie and Rodney Bays of Wakefield; and a number of aunts, uncles and cousins. He was predeceased by his grandfather, Virgil O. Patterson, and his maternal grandparents Fred and Val Worrell.

Funeral services with full military honors will be held on Monday, Jan. 24, 2005 at 2 p.m. in Millfield Baptist Church, 31389 Millfield Road, Ivor, with the Rev. Mike Harrell officiating. Interment will follow in Rosemont Cemetery, Peachtree Rd., Sedley. The family will receive friends at Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield, on Saturday evening, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 22, 2005. The chapel will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. each day prior to the service. Memorial donations may be made to the Claire Michell Patterson Scholarship Fund, in care of Citizen’s National Bank, Windsor or Bronco Federal Credit Union, Franklin Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield, assisted the family with arrangements.