"In Memoriam: Nancy-Lou Patterson" by Janet Brennan Croft
This "In Memoriam" is taken from Re-envisioning Mythopoeia by Nancy-Lou Patterson (Valleyhome Books 2020) pp. xi–xiii. It was first published in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: 37.2 (Spring-Summer 2019): 152-155. Article 11. The original publication included a bibliography of Nancy-Lou Patterson's major papers on Inklings and Inklings-related literature, and of the front and back cover art she contributed to Mythlore. These lists have been omitted here as they are provided elsewhere in this volume [Re-envisioning Mythopoeia]. The complete In Memoriam is available at <https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol37/iss2/11>.
Nancy-Lou Patterson, scholar, artist, poet, and teacher, was an essential figure in the history of both Mythlore and the Mythopoeic Society. Born in 1929 in Worchester, Massachusetts, to academic parents, she and her husband eventually settled in Waterloo, Ontario, in 1962, and within six years she had founded the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo. In 1993, upon her retirement, she became the university's first woman to be named Distinguished Professor Emerita. She worked in textiles, stained glass, wood, metal, ceramics, and calligraphy, and her fine-line pen and ink drawings frequently graced the covers and interior of Mythlore and illustrated her many articles. In addition to her extensive publications on the Inklings, she also wrote about Inuit and First Nations art and the arts and crafts of Swiss and German immigrants to Waterloo County, and authored fiction and poetry as well.
Patterson passed away in October, 2018, fifteen years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and is survived by her husband Palmer and eight of the nine children (six of them adopted) they raised together. Her family kindly granted us permission to publish one of her final poems, rendered all the more poignant by the misspelling of the name of her disease and the simplicity of its language.
On Being Diagnosed With Altzheimer's
Of course, I knew
I'd die, someday,
but not like this.
The doctor smiles;
he's counting out
his list of pills
prescribing the
long, slow loss
of my known self;
reminding me
of Sandburg's fog;
its small cat feet.
—Nancy-Lou Patterson, 2003
While Patterson does not hold the record for the most articles published in Mythlore and other society publications (that honor belongs to Joe R. Christopher and is still climbing and unlikely ever to be beaten), she was one of our most prolific contributors, beginning with a paper in the Proceedings of the very first Mythcon in 1969 and continuing through her last review published in Mythlore #88 in 2001. Her essays were distinguished by clarity of style, breadth of reference, and insightful analysis. In addition to reviewing well over 200 titles for Mythlore (and a number for Mythprint as well), she served as Book Review Editor for issues #26-84, 1981-1998 and member of the Editorial Board for issues #58-84, 1989-1998, and was the Keynote Speaker at Mythcon 13 in 1982.
Patterson's papers, including the poem reproduced above, are held in the special collections at the University of Waterloo, and a finding aid is available at https://uwaterloo.ca/library/special-collections-archives/collections/ patterson-nancy-lou-fonds. I have been working with Emily E. Auger to collect Patterson's Inklings and fantasy scholarship from Mythlore and other sources (including some previously unpublished essays as well as many from sources now difficult to find) into a series of volumes. So far we have published the following, and plan one or two more volumes to cover her non-Inklings papers and fantasy art. They can be ordered via Amazon or Lulu.com in paper or hardcover format, or Kobo.com in electronic format.
Nancy-Lou Patterson was an exemplar of the life well-lived and fully engaged, as a scholar, artist, writer, wife and mother, and active member of her community and church. "Being creative is who I am. It is everything. It is what I am about," she said of herself. I am grateful that Mythlore and the Mythopoeic Society were beneficiaries of her intelligent and creative spirit.
For local obituaries, search the news and notices of The Waterloo Region Record at https://www.therecord.com/ and read the remembrances of a colleague at the University of Waterloo at https://uwater- loo.ca/fine- arts/news/remembering-nancy-lou-patterson-1929-2018.
——Janet Brennan Croft
Nancy-Lou Patterson, scholar, artist, poet, and teacher, was an essential figure in the history of both Mythlore and the Mythopoeic Society. Born in 1929 in Worchester, Massachusetts, to academic parents, she and her husband eventually settled in Waterloo, Ontario, in 1962, and within six years she had founded the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo. In 1993, upon her retirement, she became the university's first woman to be named Distinguished Professor Emerita. She worked in textiles, stained glass, wood, metal, ceramics, and calligraphy, and her fine-line pen and ink drawings frequently graced the covers and interior of Mythlore and illustrated her many articles. In addition to her extensive publications on the Inklings, she also wrote about Inuit and First Nations art and the arts and crafts of Swiss and German immigrants to Waterloo County, and authored fiction and poetry as well.
Patterson passed away in October, 2018, fifteen years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and is survived by her husband Palmer and eight of the nine children (six of them adopted) they raised together. Her family kindly granted us permission to publish one of her final poems, rendered all the more poignant by the misspelling of the name of her disease and the simplicity of its language.
On Being Diagnosed With Altzheimer's
Of course, I knew
I'd die, someday,
but not like this.
The doctor smiles;
he's counting out
his list of pills
prescribing the
long, slow loss
of my known self;
reminding me
of Sandburg's fog;
its small cat feet.
—Nancy-Lou Patterson, 2003
While Patterson does not hold the record for the most articles published in Mythlore and other society publications (that honor belongs to Joe R. Christopher and is still climbing and unlikely ever to be beaten), she was one of our most prolific contributors, beginning with a paper in the Proceedings of the very first Mythcon in 1969 and continuing through her last review published in Mythlore #88 in 2001. Her essays were distinguished by clarity of style, breadth of reference, and insightful analysis. In addition to reviewing well over 200 titles for Mythlore (and a number for Mythprint as well), she served as Book Review Editor for issues #26-84, 1981-1998 and member of the Editorial Board for issues #58-84, 1989-1998, and was the Keynote Speaker at Mythcon 13 in 1982.
Patterson's papers, including the poem reproduced above, are held in the special collections at the University of Waterloo, and a finding aid is available at https://uwaterloo.ca/library/special-collections-archives/collections/ patterson-nancy-lou-fonds. I have been working with Emily E. Auger to collect Patterson's Inklings and fantasy scholarship from Mythlore and other sources (including some previously unpublished essays as well as many from sources now difficult to find) into a series of volumes. So far we have published the following, and plan one or two more volumes to cover her non-Inklings papers and fantasy art. They can be ordered via Amazon or Lulu.com in paper or hardcover format, or Kobo.com in electronic format.
- Ransoming the Waste Land: Papers on C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy, Chronicles of Narnia, and Other Works. 2 vols. Valleyhome Books, 2016.
- Detecting Wimsey: Papers on Dorothy L. Sayers's Detective Fiction. Valleyhome Books, 2017.
- Nancy-Lou Patterson Reviews Books By and About Dorothy L. Sayers, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Others. Valleyhome Books, 2018.
- Divining Tarot: Papers on Charles Williams's The Greater Trumps and Other Works. Valleyhome Books, 2019.
Nancy-Lou Patterson was an exemplar of the life well-lived and fully engaged, as a scholar, artist, writer, wife and mother, and active member of her community and church. "Being creative is who I am. It is everything. It is what I am about," she said of herself. I am grateful that Mythlore and the Mythopoeic Society were beneficiaries of her intelligent and creative spirit.
For local obituaries, search the news and notices of The Waterloo Region Record at https://www.therecord.com/ and read the remembrances of a colleague at the University of Waterloo at https://uwater- loo.ca/fine- arts/news/remembering-nancy-lou-patterson-1929-2018.
——Janet Brennan Croft