James Hal Patton III, longtime Serta licensee and former president of the National Association of Bedding Manufacturers, passed away on Mon., Oct. 16. He was 90 and a resident of Germantown, Tennessee.
Born Aug. 2, 1933, in Memphis, Tennessee, Patton was an Eagle Scout and a graduate of Columbia Military Academy. He received his BSE from Vanderbilt University School of Engineering in 1955, where he was Lt. Col. and ROTC Battalion Commander, vice president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and a member of ODK National Leadership Fraternity.
After serving as a 1st Lt. in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Hanau, Germany, Patton returned to Memphis to begin a 40-year career in the family business, National Bedding and Furniture Industries, where he served as president and CEO.
Patton also served as board chair of Serta Inc.; he was president of the National Association of Bedding Manufacturers from March 1984 to March 1985 (the National Association of Bedding Manufacturers became the International Sleep Products Association in 1986). His community contributions included stints as president of the Chickasaw Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the VU School of Engineering Alumni Association.
Patton was predeceased by his parents May and James Hal Patton and his brother Charles Thompson Patton. He is survived by his sister Blythe Patton Orr (Bud) of Danville, Alabama, and his children: Hal Patton (Clare) of Spokane, Washington, and Avery Patton Albritton (Will) of Nashville, Tennessee, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Private family services will be held at a later date. Memorials may be sent to The Village at Germantown Foundation or the Chickasaw Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
