Joy F. Patterson

PATTERSON, Joy F. b. Lansing, Michigan, 11 October 1931. Patterson grew up in LaGrange, Illinois, studied French at the University of Wisconsin, and spent a year at the University of Strasbourg, France, on a Fulbright scholarship. She taught French at the University of Wisconsin and also was a claims representative for the USA Social Security Administration. An elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Wausau, Wisconsin, she was a member of the committee that prepared The Presbyterian Hymnal: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Louisville, 1990). She has said that her aim is ‘to use simple but timeless language and to relate the ancient truths of the Christian faith to today’s world.’ (The...