David Freet Patzman died June 1, 2009, in Mission Woods, Kansas. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 17, 1938, the son of Dean and Elizabeth Freet Patzman.
He attended Shawnee Mission (Kansas) High School. He was an Eliot House resident, Hasty Pudding member, and Phi Beta Kappa at Harvard, receiving his A.B., magna cum laude in government, with the Class in 1960. After completing his LL.B. at Harvard Law School in 1963, he served in the US Army Reserve, rising to the rank of captain.
He joined the Kansas City law firm of Morrison, Hecker, Curtis, Kuder & Parrish in 1963 and became a partner four years later. He especially enjoyed mediation and personal client counseling in his practice, which spanned the areas of tax law, corporate law, employee benefits, and health care.
After retiring from the firm in 2003 he became a staff attorney with the Federal Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee's office in Johnson County.
He also served as mayor of Mission Woods from 1995 until days before his death.
Dedicated to international student exchange since his own days as a high school exchange student in Germany, he volunteered thousands of hours to the American Field Service in Kansas City, served as a host to several students over the years, and cultivated a circle of friends throughout the world.
He was an adventuresome gardener and cook and was known to have an exceptional eye for interior design.
He was survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Sandra (Johnson); two sons, Andrew and John; a sister, Janet Serrano; and a grandson.
Reprinted courtesy of the Harvard Alumni Association Class Report Office from the Harvard and Radcliffe Classes of 1960 Fiftieth Anniversary Report.
An earlier obituary for David appeared in the Kansas City Star - June 5, 2009
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