Patrick was a proponent of the sour grapes philosophy, and has been widely quoted as stating: "Those who condemn wealth are those who have none and see no chance of getting it.

[5] In 1972 an F-86 Sabre jet, owned by Patrick, crashed into an ice cream parlor in Sacramento, killing 22 people on the ground.

[23] William Penn Patrick died on June 9, 1973, at age 43, in the crash of his privately owned P-51D Mustang[19][24] near his farm at Clearlake Oaks, California.

He was flying the plane at the time; after making a low pass, he pulled up steeply, stalled, and entered a spin from which he did not recover.

[25] He was flying with Christian George Hagert, 30, director of Holiday Magic of Helsinki, Finland, who also died in the crash.