Obituaries
Fire Official Loses Battle With Breast Cancer
Cheri Patterson, 46, died May 4 at Hemet Valley Medical Center, following a four-year battle with breast cancer.
Longtime Riverside County fire spokeswoman Cheri Patterson has died of breast cancer, it was reported today. She was 46.
Patterson had been the voice of CalFire and Riverside County firefighters, and its predecessor agency, the California Division of Forestry, starting in 2005. She began her career as a 911 dispatcher 26 years ago, and retired last year, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
Before joining what was then called CDF/Riverside County Fire, she was a seasonal forest firefighter in San Bernardino County, but gave that up after suffering burn injuries.
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She died May 4 at Hemet Valley Medical Center, following a four-year battle with breast cancer.
Patterson was survived by her husband, deputy Riverside County fire chief Glenn Patterson, and her three sons: Tyler Mello, Brandon Mello and Garrett Patterson, as well as her parents and three siblings, the Press- Enterprise reported.
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Memorial services were Saturday. --City News Service
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