The Patten name has deep roots in the cemetery monument business. It was established in 1917 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Several expansions over the years has expanded Patten’s service area to the entire state. Today, Patten’s Michigan Monuments is located in Hastings, Michigan, with offices in Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, and Coldwater, and is the sole Patten monument company still owned and operated by direct descendants of its original founder, Maurice Lyman Patten.
Patten's Michigan Monument Company services an area deeply rooted in Michigan, having been in business for over 100 years. A Historical Timeline of the Patten’s Family Cemetery Monument Business
1917
Maurice Lyman Patten and partner Andrew Utter form Utter-Patten Monument Company on Plainfield Ave in Grand Rapids, MI
1918
Maurice buys out his partner and moves the business to Plainfield Ave. and Leonard in Grand Rapids, MI.
1929
Maurice opens a sales office in Hastings on Michigan Ave.
1930’s
Maurice’s father George comes to work for Maurice. The family business survives the Great Depression by bartering goods & services. Maurice’s 9 children begin helping with the family business.
1945
Three of Maurice’s sons, Ga***rd, Donald, and Jack return from World War II. Maurice expands the business by taking over the Hastings office and leaving Jack and Donald in charge of the Grand Rapids office.
1947
The current site of the Hastings facility, 1065 Green St. is purchased and a sales & production facility is built which is still in operation today. Jack, Ga***rd, and Maurice Jr. help with the new facility. Ga***rd stays in Hastings to run production. Jack returns to Grand Rapids to help Don.
1950
Jack returns to Hastings to help run the business there.
1956
Ga***rd opens his own monument business in Battle Creek, MI.
1957
Jack, his wife, Rose, and Maurice Jr. move to Kalamazoo to start a Patten Monument Company branch on Riverside Dr.
1960
Jack and Rose return to Hastings to take over, allowing Maurice Sr. to retire.
1967
The company is divided among Maurice’s sons. The Hastings branch owned by Jack and Rose becomes the Patten Monument Manufacturing Company.
1975
Jack and Rose buy the Kalamazoo location from Maurice Jr., allowing Maurice Jr. to branch out into the Indiana area. This sale also includes the Mashon Dorsey Monument Company in Coldwater, Michigan, which Maurice Jr. also owned at the time of the sale. The Mashon Dorsey Monument Company (Now the Coldwater location of Patten’s Michigan Monument Company) has been in business over 100 years.
1984
Ron Holley(Jack’s son-in-law) becomes part of the family legacy and begins running the company with Jack.
1985
Ga***rd Patten retires. Jack and Rose make plans to purchase Ga***rd’s Battle Creek location.
March, 1985
Jack passes away.
June, 1985
Rose follows through with her and Jack’s plans and purchases the Battle Creek location. Production for all sales offices are consolidated under the name, Patten’s Michigan Monument Company. Mary Patten Holley becomes secretary-treasurer, and her husband, Ron, becomes Vice President.
2002
Ron Holley becomes President in February.
2009
Ron and Mary Holley purchase the company in December.
Present Day
Today, the descendants of company founder, Maurice Lyman Patten, and his son Jack Lyman Patten, continue their family legacy in Patten’s Michigan Monument Company. Ron and Mary (Patten) Holley own and run the company. The family heritage is continuing on to the next generation with the involvement of Jack’s grandson: Ryan Holley (Vice President) with the assistance of Renee (Holley) Gresly, Ryan Holley, Regan Holley, and Reka Holley. Patten’s Michigan Monument Company, based in Hastings, Michigan and with satellite offices in Portage, Coldwater, and Battle Creek continues to thrive because family remains such an important asset to its legacy.
