When Thomas Earl Patton was born on 10 January 1897, in Shaw, Marion, Oregon, United States, his father, John LaFayette Patton, was 26 and his mother, Mary Mae Howd, was 25. He married Delores Elvira Bergen about 1920. They were the parents of at least 1 daughter. He lived in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States in 1920 and Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States in 1930. He registered for military service in 1817. He died on 4 September 1980, in Washington, Oregon, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States.