City Mourns the Loss of Longtime Public Works Employee Joe Patterson

This week, employees of the City of Midwest City lost a friend, leader, and co-worker with the passing of Joe Patterson. Joe passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer at the age of 51.

As a Park Project Supervisor with the Public Works Street/Parks Division, Joe was best known in the community for managing maintenance in all of the city parks and for his work on Midwest City's most significant special events. If you or your kids have played on one of our playgrounds, listened to a band play from the Midwest City stage, watched a parade march down our streets... you've seen Joe's work.

Most especially, Joe was considered the heart and soul of Midwest City's Holiday Lights Spectacular. Each year, his teams would work for up to six months to install, repair, and maintain our community's favorite holiday tradition. He took a lot of pride in organizing a show that families would love and took it personally when the lights had to be canceled in 2020 due to extensive ice storm damage. He challenged himself and his team to restore the show for the next holiday season while maintaining all of the park properties throughout Midwest City.

Joe was loved by his Midwest City family and is deeply missed. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated for Joe's family and the Public Works team that worked closely with him during his 17-year career with the City of Midwest City.