Born: July 2, 1940 - Deceased: July 29, 2023
Rev. Larry “Coach” Patton
Legendary teacher, coach, and pastor in the Belleville and St. Louis area, Larry Edgar Patton passed on to his heavenly home on July 29. Born July 2, 1940, “Coach” was raised in Fairview Heights, Illinois, and graduated from Belleville Township High School in 1958 where he was a star student, basketball, and baseball athlete, and where, most importantly, he met the love of his life, Diane Lengfelder. Larry attended Southern Illinois University-Carbondale on a baseball scholarship where he majored in mathematics and played four years for the Salukis, and a teammate of legendary baseball coach, “Itchy” Jones. In addition, he was thrilled for his younger brother, Mel, to join him at SIUC and play two years before Mel was drafted in the 11th round by the Cardinals in 1961. Larry earned his bachelors and masters degrees and accepted his first teaching and coaching job at Belleville Township. In 1961, Larry married his soulmate, Diane Lengfelder, who resiliently and faithfully walked beside him for over 62 years-truly an eternally faithful companion. When Belleville East first opened its doors in 1967, Larry was the inaugural varsity baseball coach and served in that role for 27 years until his teaching retirement in 1993. During that time, “Coach” managed the Lancers to 544 wins, numerous championships, six state playoff appearances, four “final fours”, St. Louis Area Coach of the Year, and was inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Lancers Wall of Fame in 2018.
Larry had a life-changing experience of Jesus Christ at an annual conference of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in 1971, in Fort Collins, Colorado. From that point on, he became deeply committed in his Christian faith, a certified lay preacher, and sponsor of the FCA huddle at Belleville East, a role that became a treasured ministry. “Coach” cherished his students and athletes, and credited FCA students for leading him to the Lord. He once said, “I was like the paralyzed man being brought to healing in Jesus by my student-athletes”, inspired by their faith and devotion.
After Larry’s teaching retirement, he continued his education in divinity school and was ordained a minister in 1994. He loved the church and served in ministry on staff at St. Matthew Church up until his full retirement at the end of 2021. Beyond that, he continued to faithfully serve as a teacher, preacher, counselor, visitor to the sick, and officiating services-right up until the last few weeks of his life on earth. He was a generous friend to all.
Larry was a deeply committed and involved father to his four children, their spouses, twelve grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He profoundly enjoyed getting together with family (even if it meant frequent drives cross country), sharing stories, laughing a lot around the dinner table, watching and attending events, ball games, and Cardinals baseball. All his life he remained passionate about baseball. The last four months of his life, Coach thoroughly enjoyed almost nightly watching his grandson Drew play for Triple “A” Rochester of the Washington Nationals, making steady progress toward his major league dream.
Sharing life together with his wife, Diane, and family was truly the great blessing of his life.
Coach Patton is survived by his:
- Wife, Diane Patton, nee Lengfelder
- Sister, Lynn Marie Arney, nee Patton, and her daughter, Brittni Brower
- Children:
- Lauren Spring, nee Patton, of Joliet, MT
- Lynelle Millas, nee Patton, of Swansea, IL
- Larry Dean Patton of Carrollton, GA
- Luke David Patton of Nolensville, TN
- Sons in law:
- David Spring
- Andrew Millas
- Daughters in law:
- Jessica Patton, nee Wolf
- Faith Patton, nee Roberts
- Grandchildren:
- Austin (Alira) Spring
- Andria (Gage) Hinsz
- Aaric Spring
- Drew (fiance Ashley Jaspers) Millas
- Abby Millas
- Annabel Patton
- Micah Patton
- Eleanor Patton
- Kendall Patton
- Avery Patton
- Maddy Patton
- Caleb Patton
- Great grandchildren:
- Scarlet Spring
- Saige Spring
- Numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews
He was preceded in death by his:
- Parents, Edgar and Jonelia Patton, nee Becherer
- Grandson, Samuel Luke Patton
- Brother, Melvin Dean Patton
- Nephews:
- Deron Patton
- John David Patton
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in memory of Reverend Patton can be made either to:
- St. Matthew Church
- Metro East Fellowship of Christian Athletes, www.618fca.org , 331 Salem Place, Suite 205, Fairview Heights, IL, 62208, or
- ONE MORE CHILD (food ministry for vulnerable children). Make your check payable to: St. Matthew “One More Child” and designate “One More Child” on the memo line of your check as well. St. Matthew Church, 1200 Moreland Drive, Belleville, IL, 62223.
Visitation: Friends may visit from 4:00 – 8:00 pm Tuesday, August 1st, 2023 and from 10:00 – 11:00 am, Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023 at St. Matthew Church in Belleville, IL.
Funeral: Funeral Services will be at 11:00 am Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023 at St. Matthew Church in Belleville, IL with Pastor Bob Swickard officiating. Interment will follow at Lake View Memorial Gardens, Fairview Heights, IL.
Live Stream will be available for the funeral at stmatthew.church
43 Comments
Diane and family. I am so sorry to hear of Larry’s passing. It was just 3 months ago that he officiated my husband Fred’s funeral. Such a great person who will be greatly missed by all. Dorothy Nugent.
Diane and family,
What a wonderful person Larry was! My mom was so blessed by his and Diane’s ministry. Our deepest condolences to you all . May God’s Spirit comfort you as you go through this sad time. And may we all live such an impactful life as Larry!
Diane and family,
Our love and respect for you and Larry runs very deep. God bless you as you adjust to Larry’s transition to Heaven. Larry was a true warrior for Jesus. We will miss him greatly.
Jeff and Linda Uhl
Larry PaTTON was one of a kind. Whatever he did, teaching, sponsoring the FCA ,coaching or ministering he always gave it his best. He was an outstanding Bible teacher and preacher not mention husband, father, grand and great grandfather. This old pastor has never had a better friend than Coach Patton.
Diane, please accept my sympathy on Larry’s passing. He was always pleasant to be around and treated officials with respect. May he rest in peace.
Love your family and Larry. He was a special, Godly mentor. Thankful to have known him. Praying God’s peace for you Diane, and your family.
Larry will be missed,he was a good man.We played basketball together many years ago. Even then he talked to me comfortably. Praying for Diane and family
“Coach” Patton, I will always remember you-with Rev. Bob Souders, you presided over my father’s memorial service, besides so many others. You are the “Ace” of our family team. I give prayers and condolences for the family. All of our family’s love, Mike Davis
My condolences to Diane and whole families. My thoughts and prayers are within you all. He will be greatly missed. I’ll miss his smile 😃 every time I see him in church. We always says hi and chats. Sure will miss him.
Pastor Larry was a TRUE man of God. I always saw him smiling and remember how he would play around with us youth and others in the church walking by him. I am in awe of his faithfulness to the Lord. The Lord used him one revival weekend to heal me, therefore being able to have 3 awesome children. He will ALWAYS be in my heart!
Larry was a wonderful kind man. He will always be remembered and in our hearts.
Diane and family, my thoughts and prayers are with you all during this time. Larry was a wonderful pastor and faithful follower of Jesus. Larry has always meant allot to our family as well as the 2 beautiful funerals services he did for my Husband Don Weber)and my Father ( Ben Moore)We will sure miss Larry.
Sorry for your loss. I thought highly of your family. May God lessen your sadness.
Ms Diane, you and your husband have been a part of teaching me about pastoring and loving people. Nel, Lauren, Luke and Larry, thank you for sharing your father with all the baseball players, hurt people and followers of Jesus.
Coach Patton was a great guy and will be missed every day, prayers for his family, now he’s with GOD looking down on us. RIP COACH 🙏
Dear Patton Family,
My husband and I are sending our deepest sympathies to all of you. Mr. Patton was a great teacher and leader at East. I was a student of his and later, he taught my son at McKendree. My twin sister and I babysat for the two oldest children, too. We have nothing but fond memories of Coach. I was thrilled to run into him at Cardinals Spring Training (two weeks before Covid closed it). I will cherish our picture taken that day. My the Lord bless him and the family during this sad time of loss but rejoice he is in his Heavenly home.
Rob and Susan Stewart
BTHSE 1972
RIP LARRY. FOLLOW THE BALL. CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY. HACK, MT. VERNON BASEBALL
Oh what a great Legacy this powerful man of God has left behind, not only for the Patton Family but for all that new Larry. When we needed Godly advise, we always turned to Larry Patton. He was always there not only faithfully for his family but for anyone that needed him.
A precious smile and special prayers knowing we were with a very special man of God.
Diane as you have spoken before, we walk above the circumstances, we pray all of us can be the type of dear wife, mother and friend that you have demonstrated to all of us…..Love this special family!
Many years ago, Larry Patton preached in the sanctuary at St. St. Matthew’s UMC which is now their chapel. He shared how God used “Put Your Hand in the Hand of the Man” song to get hold of his heart. God used his testimony and preaching to get hold of mine!! God also used him and Diane to bless our lives in many ways. Diane’s sweet loving voice answered the phone when I called to ask about times for church service all those years ago. I’m thankful I was able to see and hug them both in April! While our hearts are saddened for our loss, Larry has now truly put is hand in THE hand who saved us both! Thank you God for Larry’s life and testimony and countless ways he blessed others and built your kingdom!! Amen
Diane and family, Coach Patton had an immeasurable impact on my life as he did in the lives of so many others, both on the field and off. He was a man of deep convictions and lived those out in a life well-lived even as he taught me some of life’s greatest lessons. I am so grateful for his faithful walk with our Lord and Savior all these years, as well as yours Diane, and the great encouragement you both have been to me personally. The Lord bless you all with overflowing peace knowing full well he is now at home with our Lord.
I met Coach Patton when I was in Jr high through FCA. I then had him in High School for geometry twice. Then throughout the years I would run into him from time to time. He was a wonderful man with such charisma. He truly lived his life by his faith. It was the light in his soul that beamed out through all of his pores. I always felt reset and focused after speaking with him. Even just in passing. He made me feel there was nothing that I couldn’t accomplish. I know he made others feel this way too. He was a sweet, kind and gentle man. We all are better people for having known him.
Diane
We mourn the loss of your loving faithful and faith – filled husband Pastor Larry as so many attest to his ministry among us all these years. We have all truly seen a man on fire in his daily life for the Lord who sustains us all. We will not forget nor
continue to honor his memory in the time ahead.
The peace of the Lord Jesus be with you and all of your family.
CORRECTED
Diane
We mourn the loss of your loving faithful and faith – filled husband Pastor Larry as so many attest to his ministry among us all these years. We have all truly seen a man on fire in his daily life for the Lord who sustains us all. We will not forget and will
continue to honor his memory in the time ahead.
The peace of the Lord Jesus be with you and all of your family.
There are plenty who don’t believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Mr. Patton treated those people as well as he treated those who believe. But he’d joyfully declare that anything not aligned with the person of Jesus Christ is a bunch of “Mickey Mouse”. Well, he mostly reserved that term for poor calls by umpires on a baseball field. I assure you, though, that alignment with Christ was above all his passion and pleasure. And to miss out on that is to miss out on life itself. This man understood the joy of life in Jesus.
I am SO Sorry to hear Larry passed..Just a Great Person…Ball Player & Minister..
On the Court or Field..& The
Ministry of the Lord…as Larry was with my uncle Bill when he was in the hospital ..
Our thoughts & prayers are with his Family.🙏💕🙏
Diane and family,
I am so sorry for your loss but celebrate with you the rejoicing in Heaven and Larry receiving those words”well done good and faithful servant.” He fought the good fight and has received the heavenly prize. His presence will be missed in a way that can’t be explained but the legacy of faith left behind will continue to reap rewards for years to come. Larry had such an influence on me during my time at St. Matthew and I am a better man from being in a relationship with him. I love you all and pray for the Lord’s grace and comfort over you all!
Fascinating. I graduated East in 1971, and had Coach Patton as a teacher my sophomore year. The past few decades I’d hear stories about Coach and his Christian devotion, and I would think to myself that this certainly didn’t sound like the Coach Patton I was familiar with. I saw a lot of my classmates in and around those early 70s become Christians, and many have devoted themselves over the past decades to living Godly lives. It is very gratifying to know that God was also working in the hearts of those who were responsible for teaching and mentoring us students.
I can only say that I have been blessed to know Larry, the countless prayers for my mom and dad during their times of illness, always speaking to the kids when we entered the sanctuary, I do not have words other than gratefulness to have known such a great human being. He is a true and faithful servant of the Lord.
Diane, I’m sure you know how much we all loved Larry. My heart aches because I am not there to share this time with you and your family. there will never be a replacement for Coach Patton. I will be praying for you and your family, hoping that the Lord can ease your heart just by knowing what a great guy he was. I love you & miss you
Coach was truly a blessing. I cherish my FCA memories from Belleville East. I remember many deep conversations about our faith and what it meant to be a Christian athlete. Rest in peace, Coach. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
East Class of 1991
Diane and family,
What beautiful tributes here God has blessed you about a man of faith for our Lord and Savior . A teacher’s and minister’s impact reaches far more than one knows in a lifetime. I was given that gift as well from Rev. Larry and yourself. Lives have been touched through everyone who was taught and ministered to during his lifetime. We have passed on the gift of his life to others of those we help. His legacy and ministry will
be continued through us. ❤️🙏
It was my pleaseure and to my benefit to count Larry as friend. He was a model of what it means to be Christian.
Dear Coach, Thanks for standing tall for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks for taking me home after FCA meetings. Thanks for always being kind to me. You’re alright, brother!!! God bless you and your entire family!!! Love you, Love you, love you. Jeff Eschenfelder
Diane and family,
I an saddened by your loss. I barely knew Larry other than him and Diane walking around the block, always holding hands. You two prayed for me once due to my foot being so badly injured. Me, then, almost a complete stranger. It shows how much you care about others. I will miss him very much. He was a great person. Always enjoyed speaking with him and Diane when walking around the block. I am truly grateful for having the opportunity to know him.
I am so sorry and devastated to hear that Coach Patton died. He was a great Baseball Grandpa to me. He and I had a special bond over the St. Louis Cardinals and we would always talk about Baseball ⚾️ and Spring Training in Florida with the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Matthew’s Church in Belleville, Illinois will not be the same without Pastor Larry Edgar Patton sitting in front with Mrs. Diane K. Patton. I miss him already.
I’m so sorry Larry and Family. I pray that God Will hold you tight in his loving arms Praying for you and Family.
Dearest Diane &family,
Larry’s uniqueness, style, passion and his jokester personality set him apart in his preaching of the word. In Sunday school, he made his point by using his finger on the board, and repeating, Now listen to this. (don;t miss this) Are you listening? He touched so many people even when he was going thru illness, tests, and treatments. His smile is unbeatable. (its catchy) And his hand shake said he cared. I’m glad to have been a small part of his Christian family. We will miss him. A lovely man and his family. We love you.
Diane and family….our deepest sympathy and prayers for you all. Larry was a wonderful man, beloved by so many. Dave is recovering from a very recent surgery, so we will be unable to be with you in person today, but we will be joining you through the livestream. Love to you all!
So sorry to hear of Rev Larry’s passing. He always had a smile. A true Christian who practiced what he preached. The last few years have made one uncertain who was truly a Christian and who was not, but with Rev Patton there was never a doubt. May God be with all of you and give you peace at this sad time. Know he is with the Lord he loved.
Our family’s life and your family’s life crossed paths starting in about 1974. Each encounter with your family was a blessing to us. Our sincere condolences to you, Diane, and to your family. One day we will see our Wonderful Savior face to face and we will be reunited with those who have gone before us! (Jim has been there almost a year now).
Fran Carey
My deepest condolences to Dianne and the entire family. Larry is a presence that will not be replaced but will forever hold a place in our hearts and memories. I grew up with Larry, Mel. and the Patton family. My separation from all of them, especially Larry, left a big hole and some really great memories.
Oh, Diane, I am so very sorry to hear of Larry’s passing. His cousin just told me at church today. I wish I had known so I could have attended the service. (Hoping you remember me as a guest for a season at the Praying Granny’s Group.) My heart goes out to you and your family. Larry was such a special person. So thankful to have known him, mostly through the Tuesday morning prayer at St Matt’s. May God comfort your hurting hearts and draw all of you near to Him. With love and prayers.
Diane and family,
I met Larry and Diane only in the last several months while on Senior Ministry trips with St. Matthews. What a lovely couple they were. I am so sorry to hear of Larry’s passing. He lived life as a true Christian. My heart and prayers go out to you Diane, and your family.