There was a horticulture ornamentals and turf agent named Dennis Patton who passed away on March 16th. “However, his work as an educator and the master garden program were the things that defined him,” said Tara Markley, who is the director of Johnson County K-State Research and Extension. Thanks to the Johnson County Extension System. In the Midwest, gardeners were often disappointed by the region’s legendary soil and temperature, and Dennis Patton was known for providing them with sensible guidance.
The battle against the sickness ended on March 16th, when Patton passed away. His wife of 33 years, Laura Patton, as well as their two boys, as well as a large number of his coworkers, colleagues, and loyal readers of the KC Gardens column that he had written for The Star for the past three decades, were taken aback by the diagnosis that was announced in October.
Having worked at the Johnson County Extension Office of Kansas State University for a period of thirty-five years, Patton, who resided in Overland Park, left an indelible mark on the communities surrounding Kansas City. It was his wife who made the statement, “He propagated plants, but more importantly, he propagated people.” His master’s degree was in adult education, and his bachelor’s degree was in horticulture from Kansas State University. It was the combo that made his career. Indeed, he was a teacher.
Through his participation in the Extension Master Gardener program, he was able to garner the respect of thousands of members of the Johnson County community over a significant portion of his stay there. It came as no surprise to anyone when he was awarded the Outstanding Extension Professional Award for 2023 by the Kansas State University Research and Extension, in addition to receiving recognition for his forty years of service as an agent in the system. Not only did his weekly essay provide guidance, but it also fostered a sense of community.
“Gardeners, in general, are happy people who take pleasure in life,” he wrote in a piece that was published in 2023. Happiness and a contribution to our overall well-being are both brought about by the act of tending to the life of plants. Before Laura Patton took a position as a program associate for the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, she had spent years teaching herself. In this role, she was responsible for advising educators on the most effective ways to teach children about a horrible period in history.
According to her, “Our sons are 25 and 28 years old, so they are fortunate.” It was possible for their father to teach them a variety of things, the most important of which was how much he loved them. When master gardeners from the Johnson County Extension Service recite his favorite expressions, Markley asserts that she is able to hear his legacy being repeated after he has passed away. The phrases “It depends” and “Life is too short for ugly plants” are examples of comments that fall into this category about horticulture-related concerns.
In the future, Markley will be able to hear his legacy being carried on. In a letter of nomination for the prize that was filed by Kansas State University, his coworkers offered quantifiable proof to illustrate the influence that he brought to the organization. This proof was included in the letter. “During Dennis’s time in Johnson County, the master gardener volunteers contributed a total of 672,571 hours of service, which is equivalent to 76.8 years of continuous service,” the information that they provided states at the beginning of the sentence.
The fact that he was so determined to properly arrange the 2023 International Master Gardener Conference was one of the most important components of his job. More than one hundred individuals from all across the United States, as well as from Canada and Britain, participated in this conference, which was held in Johnson County and was hosted from Johnson County.
