Lory Patrick, the actress best known for her role on NBC’s Tales of Wells Fargo and the longtime wife of Disney star Dean Jones, died Jan. 26 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She was 92. Her passing was confirmed by a publicist.
Patrick portrayed schoolteacher Tina Swenson during the sixth and final season of Tales of Wells Fargo, appearing in 15 episodes of the expanded hourlong Western. Her character lived on a San Francisco ranch with her sister (played by Mary Jane Saunders) and their widowed mother (Virginia Christine), neighbors to Dale Robertson’s Jim Hardie.
Over the course of her career, Patrick appeared in numerous television series during the 1960s, including Wagon Train, Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, It’s a Man’s World, General Electric Theater and Laramie. Her film credits included Surf Party (1964) and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967).
Born Loretta Basham on April 8, 1933, in Beckley, West Virginia, she graduated from Oak Hill High School before beginning a modeling career in Detroit and New York. While in New York, she appeared on the NBC game show Split Personality. She later moved to Los Angeles and signed a contract with Universal in 1961, soon landing an episode of The Loretta Young Show before securing her recurring role on Tales of Wells Fargo.
Patrick retired from acting in the late 1960s but remained active as a writer for television and film. She also contributed as a columnist for a writers’ magazine and, under the name Lory Basham Jones, authored the 1993 book Hearing God.
She was married to science-fiction writer Harlan Ellison in 1966; the marriage ended in divorce the same year. In June 1973, she married actor Dean Jones, star of such beloved Disney films as That Darn Cat!, The Love Bug and The Shaggy D.A. The couple remained married for 42 years until Jones’ death in September 2015 from Parkinson’s disease at age 84.
Together, Patrick and Jones established a counseling ministry, served as elders at The Church on the Way in Van Nuys and founded the Christian Rescue Committee (now known as the Christian Rescue Fund), an organization dedicated to helping individuals persecuted for their faith. In 1984, she directed the one-man stage production St. John in Exile, starring her husband; he later reprised the role in a 1986 film adaptation.
Following her husband’s death, Patrick relocated from Tarzana to Gettysburg to be closer to family and to continue writing and pursuing her artistic interests.
She is survived by her three children — Caroline (Steve), Deanna (Tom) and Michael (Dion); eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three brothers, Richard, Tom and Paul; and her sister, Carol. She was preceded in death by her brothers Charles and David.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. April 25 at Mossy Living World Church in Scarbro, West Virginia. Donations in her memory may be made to the church, Pentecost Walk or the Christian Rescue Fund.