"He's right over my heart," said Patterson's twin sister, Sue Patterson Graff, who wore a picture of her brother on her chest. "I carried him with me."
Graff, 42, who made the 2-kilometer loop beginning at Long Meadow Shopping Center, said her brother cared deeply about health issues and was active in the community.
Patterson had several operations during the year before his death, and Graff said her brother appreciated the research that made those operations possible.
"We actually are very thankful we had the additional year with him," she said.
The walkers, some wearing company T-shirts and others wearing red caps denoting they had survived heart disease, went down Oak Hill Avenue across Prospect Avenue and up Hamilton Boulevard.
Laura Hain was the first participant to return to the shopping center. The 26-year-old Fox Lane Meadows resident sprinted the course.
Hain, who runs three to five miles every weekend, said she works with Patterson's wife and used to work at the Toyota dealership where Patterson had his car serviced.
"Boy, he was really worth the time to run," she said.
Hain said she raised about $100 in sponsorship money.
"Everyone was pretty generous," she said.
Cathy Hanson, the event's director, said heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 killers in the area and in the country.
"Heart disease can affect anybody at any time. Everybody knows somebody," she said. "It's a cause I feel strongly about. I lost my grandparents to heart disease."
Some companies formed teams of walkers. Eleven Mack Trucks employees brought in $1,722.50 walking the course.
"I think heart health is important," said Linda Mason, who helped organize Mack's team. "I think it's important we help find a (cure) for heart disease and stop it."
Dale Swope, who owns Photography by Dale, donated photography for the walk.
Swope, 62, knows about heart disease firsthand. He had bypass surgery 2 1/2 years ago.
"It kind of wakes you up as to how fragile life is and how lucky we are to have the technology to repair hearts," he said.
