Phyllis Ann (Stimbert) Patterson Renaissance Pleasure Faire creator Phyllis Ann (Stimbert) Patterson of Novato, CA, died on May 18th, 2014, at the age of 82. Over the past 53 years, Phyllis Patterson touched the lives of millions of guests at her events and became mentor and symbolic mother to generations of participants. She was born on January 25th, 1932, in Omaha, Nebraska, to Mildred Irene and Elden Carl Stimbert; her father became Superintendent of City Schools in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1960, while expecting son Kevin, Phyllis and Ron created a backyard drama-and-arts program at the Patterson's Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills, and later taught art and drama at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. In response to students' enthusiasm for Commedia dell'arte, Phyllis enlisted Pacifica radio station KPFK to sponsor the very first Renaissance Faire in America on May 11th-12th, 1963 in N. Hollywood. In 1966, while expecting the birth of son Brian, the Pattersons expanded their event to the San Francisco Bay Area. China Camp (now a State Park) in Marin County was the Faire's first Northern California location and was highlighted by psychedelic ethnic music groups and bohemian artists. It outgrew that setting and moved to the old Satori Ranch at Black Point in Novato in 1971. The "Blackpoint Forest" (Novato) and "Paramount Ranch" (Los Angeles) Renaissance Pleasure Faires not only supported a way of life for many counterculture trail blazers, they became world famous as hundreds of thousands of guests, many in costume, engaged in the rediscovered seasonal rituals of mummers plays, parades, pageants and traditional revelry. "The Faire reminds us of simpler times more in touch with nature and the world," said Phyllis. Phyllis will be missed and remembered by all those she loved, influenced, inspired and transformed with immense gratitude and great affection. She is survived by sons Kevin and Brian Patterson; daughter-in-law Leslie; grandsons Andrew and Michael Patterson all in the San Francisco Bay Area; brother Vaughn Stimbert, nieces Cindy Sands and Susan Bullock of Memphis. For full obit and news of pending memorial plans, visit fairehistory.org. Published in Marin Independent Journal on June 8, 2014 -