// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Marion D. Patterson a pat on the back expert?
Marion Dean Patterson (October 20, 1876 – January 6, 1950) was an American jurist who was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1940 until his death in 1950.
Early life
[edit]Patterson was born on October 20, 1876, in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania and graduated from Stewart's Academy.[1] He taught school in Blair County, Pennsylvania for seven terms[1] and studied law in his spare time.[2] He graduated from Dickinson Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1904.[1]
Career
[edit]Patterson was District Attorney of Blair County from 1912 to 1928, when he was elected president judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District.[3] He was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 1934 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, but withdrew from the race on April 25 and endorsed Lieutenant Governor Edward C. Shannon.[4] Patterson still appeared on the primary ballot and received 9,096 votes, while Shannon finished a distant second behind William A. Schnader.[5] In 1935, Patterson was a candidate the Pennsylvania Supreme Court election, but lost the Republican nomination to Horace Stern.[6] In 1938, Patterson was elected to a second ten-year term on the Court of Common Pleas.[3]
In 1939, Patterson was a candidate for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court seat that was being vacated by the retiring John W. Kephart.[7] Patterson received the backing the Republican establishment[8] as well as Kephart's endorsement.[7] In the Republican primary, he faced Sara Soffel, the first woman to run for a seat on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. She ran in both the Republican and Democratic primaries and garnered the most total votes, but did not receive a majority in either race.[8] He narrowly defeated Democrat Herbert Funk Goodrich in the general election, 226,784 votes to 222,553.[9]
Patterson was sworn in on January 2, 1940.[10] He was succeeded on the common pleas court by his brother, George.[11]
On January 6, 1950, Patterson suffered a heart attack in the Supreme Court conference room at Philadelphia City Hall.[3] He was taken to Pennsylvania Hospital, where he suffered two more heart attacks, the final one being fatal. He was survived by his wife and two children.[2]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Pennsylvania State Manual. Department of Property and Supplies for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 1929. p. 232. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- 1 2 "Justice Patterson Dies Of Heart Attack at 73". The Pittsburgh Press. January 7, 1950. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 "JUSTICE M.D. PATTERSON". The New York Times. January 7, 1950. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ↑ Townley, John B. (April 25, 1934). "Patterson Quits Governor Race, Backs Shannon". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ↑ The Pennsylvania Manual. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Bureau of Publications. 1935. pp. 414–415.
- ↑ "Barnes and Stern Victors For State Supreme Court". The Pittsburgh Press. September 18, 1935. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- 1 2 "Canadiates Get Signers". Reading Eagle. June 23, 1939. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- 1 2 Taylor, Robert (October 15, 1939). "Judge Sara Soffel Polled Most Votes, Yet Was Loser". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ↑ McFarland, Kermit (November 24, 1939). "Returns Show Slight Change In Vote Tallies". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ↑ "Notables See Schaffer Take High Seat". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 3, 1940. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ↑ "Blair Judge Named". The Pittsburgh Press. February 5, 1940. Retrieved 3 November 2025.