William H. Patterson, Jr. RIP

Earlier this year, I received an email from Bill Patterson, scholar and author of the two-volume biography of Robert Heinlein. He asked if I was interested in running a review in Prometheus, and I immediately said yes. We had some back and forth discussions. He sent in his review, and I sent him a proof copy. A few days later he apologized and said he had been ill. A week later I heard he passed away.

I had met Bill a few years ago, but cannot say I knew him personally. Yet his passing left a deep void in my soul. The review in Prometheus may well be his most recently written work, yet when we last spoke he had expressed an interest in writing other articles for Prometheus, and was excited about the forthcoming 2nd volume of his Heinlein biography. It is tragic that he will never experience the reaction to his new book.