Beatrice Banning Ayer ¹⁶⁸¹

   Cause of her death was Ruptured Aortic Aneurysm.

  General Notes:

She was born Beatrice Banning Ayer in Haverhill, Massachusetts the daughter of Frederick Ayer an industrialist who owned a woolen mill. She enjoyed the life of privilege & attended prestigious finishing schools. She met George Patton for the first time as children. The friendship resulted in marriage in 1910 which lasted over thirty years and produced three children. Their son, George S. Patton III continued the West Point tradition and became a general. Beatrice had many talents. She was bilingual in French and translated many French army manuals into english. She was an expert equestrian, a fine lecturer and an able sailor with a sloop of her own. She was a fine writer complyling three books. She covered the country during WWII raising money during bond drives. After the tragic death of her husband in 1945, Mrs. Patton became a forceful and persuasive speaker advocating universal military training. On September 30,1953 at Hamilton, Massachusetts, while horse riding she suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm which took her life instantly causing her to fall from the animal. After a brief Episcopal service, she was cremated. Her wish to be buried with her husband was well known to her children. An Army nurse is the only woman buried at the American Cemetery and memorial. There is another woman's presence: The ashes of the general's widow, Beatrice Ayer Patton were strewn over his grave by their children several years after her death. ¹⁶⁸³

Beatrice married General, George Smith Patton III, son of George Smith "Frenchy" Patton Jr. and Ruth Wilson, on 10 May 1910 in Beverly Farms, Essex, Massachusetts, USA.¹⁶⁸¹ (General, George Smith Patton III was born on 11 Nov 1885 in San Gabriel, Los Angeles, California, USA and died on 21 Dec 1945 in Heidelberg, Germany.). The cause of his death was Car Accident.