Benny Francis Patterson, age 60, a resident of Cedar Bluff, Va., passed away Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Clinch Valley Medical Center in Richlands, Va.

Mr. Patterson was born Sept. 29, 1952, in Knoxville. He grew up and lived in the Moores Camp on New River in Anderson County until early adulthood, when the family moved to Oliver Springs in the 1970s. He moved to LaFollete in 1978, and continued to live there until his move to Cedar Bluff, Va., in 1994.

Mr. Patterson was a member of the United Mine Workers of America. He was a disabled underground coal miner, who worked for over 30 years in Virginia and Tennessee coal mines. He was last employed by Consol Energy in Virginia. [Read more…]