WODONGA Raiders' unofficial mascot Peter 'Patto' Pattenden has passed away.
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The guitar-playing Viking died earlier this week following a short illness after being a regular at Birallee Park for over a decade.
He was 59.
Pattenden regularly played his guitar on the hill much to the amusement of Raiders' supporters and frustration of the opposition.
"He just lobbed one day when I think Corey (Lambert) was coaching," Raiders stalwart Mick 'Skinny' Wernert said.
"He was a passionate supporter.
"He was an individual ... his heart definitely beat true for the red and the blue.
"A dead-set character."
As well as keeping the crowd entertained on Saturdays, Pattenden was a driver for several mystery bus tours and often helped fill the water bottles and collect the balls at training.
While Pattenden was often told to put his guitar away by the opposition, Wernert said it never fazed him.
"We would pull his guitar out on the hill and just play away," he said.
"They just laughed with him as he went hell for leather.
"I don't know if the opposition had a go at him too much because he was a fairly ominous figure."
Ovens and Murray operations manager and former Raiders general manager Greg Dawson remembers Pattenden being involved in a league promotion for volunteers in 2012.
"He was a character who was always wanting to help out," Dawson said.
"He would follow all the games and whenever the Raiders won he would be on the guitar with the speaker serenading the players as they walked off the ground.
"He would do the same thing at away games."
The cold weather was never an issue.
"Even in the middle of winter he would be behind the goals in his short sleeve Raiders jumper with a pair of shorts or jeans on," Dawson said.
"He would go out for a kick at the breaks and didn't seem to fear the cold at all."
The bus and gas tanker driver lived at Leneva and attracted media coverage in 2012 for becoming the first person to swim the length of Lake Hume.
It took him 23 hours.
Pattenden loved his swimming, regularly making the trek from the Lake Hume Resort to Bellbridge and back.
"He would swim in the middle of the night and did it 26 times this winter," Pattenden's son, Brad, said.
Pattenden is survived by his partner Carol, and children Brad, Dale, Luke and Rachel.
The funeral will be held at Lester and Son in Wodonga from 11am on Saturday.
