Patrick Nye grew up in England and started his scientific career working on reading machines for the blind. In 1965 he moved to Pasadena, CA to do vision research at CalTech. Most of his working life was spent as vice president of Haskins Laboratories in New Haven, Connecticut where he did linguistics research for 34 years. He moved to Port Ludlow, Washington in 2005 and enjoyed the local computer, hiking, and kayaking clubs. Recently he was involved with MovieMakers (an amateur movie making group) and was an enthusiastic volunteer for the Jefferson County Sheriff's department.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Elaine, and 2 children, Adrian and Philippa.