Honoring Alayne Patterson

by Nara Takakawa | Reading time: 1 minute

Rest in love Alayne ❤️

For the past six years, the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi benefited from the expertise and knowledge of retired CPA, Alayne Patterson of Des Moines, Iowa. Alayne and I were college roommates for one semester during our first year at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.

We lost touch over the years but reconnected on Facebook six years ago. During a phone conversation, I just happened to mention that I was having difficulty completing the Chapter’s financial reporting that was due at National. Without hesitation, Alayne said, “I can help you with that.” I was overjoyed that an actual accountant would be helping me because I am an educator, not an accountant. Alayne reconciled Quickbooks, created the financial reports for every Chapter ExCom meeting, and guided the Hawaiʻi Chapter through six years of financial statements. Thanks to Alayne, the Hawaiʻi Chapter now has a system that accounts for every single penny of income and expenses each month.

When she wasn’t volunteering for the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi, Alayne was a loving mom to her daughter, Meredith, and a full-time college student. She had one more year of teacher training to complete before becoming a certified high school math teacher when she unexpectedly passed away in May. She will be sorely missed.

In remembrance of Alayne, her family asks that donations be made in her memory to Gigi's Playhouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Alayne volunteered there tutoring children with Down Syndrome.