Lt. Col. Allen David Patton

LT. Col. Allen David Patton

August 11, 1967 – July 29, 2022

Lt Col Allen D. Patton passed away July 29, 2022, in a tragic traffic accident. He was born on August 11, 1967 in Morrilton, AR. He is survived by his wife, Kelley (Adams) Patton, his sisters Lynn Patton and Danielle (Joey) Caston, his brother Daniel, his nephew Josh, his niece Cindy (Jonathan) Price, many loved cousins, great nieces and nephews, other family members, and friends.

A celebration of life service will be held at St. Luke UMC at 1:00 on Thursday, August 4. Memorials are suggest to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or St. Luke United Methodist Church.

Lt Col Allen D. Patton, a proud veteran of the Air Force, passed away July 29, 2022.

Allen was born August 11, 1967 and grew up in Morrilton, Arkansas. He attended the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, starting his military career as an ROTC cadet. It was at the university where he met his bride-to-be, Kelley Adams. He graduated and earned his commission in May of 1990.

After achieving his Navigator wings at Undergraduate Navigator Training in California, he began his flying career as a B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer at Griffiss AFB, NY. After several bad winters, he decided he wanted to be warm and chose to be stationed at Barksdale AFB, LA when Griffiss closed.

At Barksdale, in addition to flying on the B-52, Allen completed a master’s degree in Industrial and Organization Psychology from Louisiana Tech. He also was the Electronic Warfare Officer on the crew who set an Aviation World Record, setting a speed-over-distance record in a B-52, and won the General Curtis E. LeMay Award for “The Most Outstanding Bomber Aircrew in the Air Force.” While at Barksdale, Allen had to take a break from flying while he fought testicular cancer. Because he was unable to fly worldwide for a few years, he took an assignment as an Electronic Warfare Instructor at NAS Corry Station in Pensacola, FL. Allen and Kelley often referred to this as the “vacation assignment.”

When the school moved to Randolph AFB, TX, Allen moved with it. By this time, he was able to return to all flying duties. He instructed new Electronic Warfare Officers on the T-43. He was at Randolph for 5 years—the longest he stayed at any base. After Randolph he attended AFIT in Dayton, OH, where he received his second master’s degree in Business Administration/Management.

After AFIT, Allen reported to the United States Strategic Command at Offutt AFB, NE, in 2005, serving as Nuclear Strike Advisor to the Commander, US Strategic Command, and stood watch in the Global Operations Center.

He then transferred into the J7 Exercises and Training Directorate, serving as Branch Chief for Integrated Mission Training Branch and culminated as the Division Chief.  When he retired from the military in 2010, he was a Senior Navigator with over 2,000 hours in the T-43 and B-52 aircrafts.

After retiring from the military, Allen changed out of his flight suit and into civilian clothes and continued as a civilian employee in the J7 Exercises and Training Directorate as Senior Training Analyst. He left J7 for a short while to work as an Electronic Warfare Program Analyst in the J8 Advocacy Directorate where he worked to identify requirements and secure funding for critical USSTRACOM mission systems. He returned to J7 and continued as a Senior Training Analyst.

By his side for 33 years was his wife, Kelley. After meeting at the University of Arkansas, Kelley was with Allen through commissioning to retirement to civilian employment. Their relationship can be explained with one story: When a crew member announced his engagement, he told Kelley that all the guys teased him that he should run away and stay free, except Allen, who shook his hand and said getting married is the best thing you’ll ever do.

Allen is survived by his wife, Kelley Patton; sisters, Lynn Patton and Danielle (Joey) Caston; brother, Daniel; nephew, Josh Coggins; niece, Cindy (Jonathan) Price; uncle, Joe (Mary) Patton; mother-in-law, Betty Parsons Adams; brother-in-law, Donald Jason Adams; and a much-loved group of great nieces and nephews and cousins. He was proceeded in death by his mother, Pauletta Kleese; father, Richard Kleese; grandmother, Willie Mae Patton; aunts, Loretta Robin and Karen (Cindy) Patton; uncles, Sam and Wilburn Patton; nephew, Jarred Coggins.

Allen never took his blessed life for granted. He loved to travel, especially to Scotland, he loved enjoying a dram with his scotch-drinking friends. He loved working at J7 and the people he worked with. He loved his church and the support he felt from them. He loved riding his motorcycle, especially with his friends. He loved his family and his many friends. And he loved Kelley.

We will miss him very much.