Vi Patterson - 1923-2013

Vi Patterson, a Charter member of Orangeville Chorus, was first and foremost a lady. Her full name was Viola and she loved to use it.
    She lived life with joy and abandon. She loved to sing and was a proud member of the Lead Section.
    At Orangeville Chorus’ Charter Night celebrations, many local dignitaries were on hand…and one of them was Vi’s husband Arnold who was Reeve of Orangeville at the time.  Both she and Arnold were very involved in the Orangeville community and in their church.
    Vi did everything ‘properly’ and always knew the right thing to say. She could be both ‘charming and alarming’ as her sense of humour was terrific. She loved to shop and on music school or International trips she bought pretty much everything she could.
    And speaking of ‘proper’…this write up would not be complete without the ‘Lake Placid Anecdote’. The chorus was attending a Music School that culminated in a big Regional Show and party on the Saturday night. Steve Brown, long time chorus supporter was living in Cornwall at the time, just happened to visit Lake Placid the same weekend… connected up with Joan Borden and Anne Richardson and attended the Sat. night festivities. The hour was late when they ended; much wine had been consumed, so driving was not an option. The hotel was booked… so Anne and Joan pulled apart their mattress and box springs and provided a spot for Steve to spend the rest of the night. In the morning, Anne and Joan were eating breakfast when Vi approached, and looked ‘very properly’ at them and said, “I just wanted to see what ‘modern girls’ eat for breakfast!”
    Some of our members have fond memories of Vi at ODSS where she had a successful career in the administration department and was always a friendly and familiar face for students.
Vi was one of several ‘only children’ in the chorus and thought it was quite a special designation! However, she has a chorus ‘relative’ connection that was discovered after her passing… she was a second cousin of Bill McCrea (Fay’s husband).
    One of the chorus’s early shows had the theme of a ‘Girls School’… namely ‘Miss Harmony’s School for Girls’. Vi had the role of ‘Miss Harmony’ and carried it off so well, with just the right sense of the school marm, and perfect attitude and fun for the character.
Vi was on the Board for many years, loved hosting Board meetings in her home… and was forever searching for files that she was pretty sure were ‘under her bed’!
    Vi was a survivor. When the Big Tornado went through in 1985, she was working in the family business in Patterson’s furniture store in Mono Plaza on Highway #10… same plaza as our current rehearsal hall, but out front where the current furniture store is located.  The store was levelled…to the ground… Vi hid under a table when the storm blew through. She came to Chorus the next week to show us her ‘tornado scar’… a small scratch on her forearm!
    Vi kept up interest in the chorus after she was no longer a member and enjoyed hearing us sing when we performed at the Lord Dufferin Centre where she was a resident. She also connected up there with former chorus member and, good friend, Joan Lockhart, where they reminisced about ‘chorus good times.’
    She will be missed.