Longtime Sarasota County Commissioner Nora Patterson passed away on Thursday, Feb. 8. She was 79 years old.

Patterson—a former teacher, small business owner and realtor—and her husband John moved to Sarasota in 1970. She was first elected to the board of county commissioners in 1998 and served until 2014, including three terms as chair. Before joining the county commission, she served for eight years on the Sarasota City Commission, including one term as mayor.

Patterson represented Sarasota County on regional boards, including the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which advises the Florida Department of Transportation. She also served on numerous local boards, including those of Teen Court of Sarasota, JFCS of the Suncoast and Plymouth Harbor. She was also president of the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida and ran for the Florida state Senate in 2016.

On Thursday, longtime friends, colleagues and other community leaders expressed their condolences.

"She was the quintessential example of an elected official," says longtime friend and former fellow Sarasota County Commissioner Jon Thaxton. "If you wanted to define the characteristics and discipline of an elected official you would replicate her. She was so smart and compassionate and thorough and engaged in the public's interest that no one would question her motive. They might question her decision, but never her motive. It's so rare to see people in power be as pure of heart as she was. I'm honored to have been able to call her a close personal friend."

“She stepped up and served Sarasota County citizens with the mindset of making sure what was decided was in the best interest of our community," says Sarasota County administrator Jonathan Lewis. "Her dedication and service will continue to shine throughout Sarasota County because of the relationships that were formed throughout her decades of public service."

In 2019, in honor of her many years of public service, Bay Island Park was renamed Nora Patterson Bay Island Park, and significant improvements were completed at the park in 2022. Patterson and her husband were also deeply committed to Kim's Fund, established in memory of their daughter Kim, who passed away from leukemia while in high school. Kim's Fund funds leukemia research and provides financial assistance to needy patients undergoing treatment for leukemia at Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center.