Retha Florence Allen- Tate's Obituary
Retha Florence Allen Tate, 104, of Longview Texas, died on December 23, 2010. Services will be Monday, December 27, 2010 At 2 PM in the Chapel of Rader Funeral Home of Longview with Rev. W. C. Everett and Rev. Dewayne Beaty officiating. Interment will be at Pinecrest Memorial Park near Little Rock, Arkansas on Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 1 PM. The family will receive friends from 1 PM until service time on Monday at the funeral home.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 30, 1906, she was the daughter of Andrew Abner Allen and Carrie Robbins Allen. Mrs. Tate was educated in Atlanta and later was married to David Munroe Tate, son of Rev. C. F. J. Tate and Bessie Munroe Tate. She and her husband were farmers in Arkansas for almost 40 years before his death. Two children were born of that union: Jo Anne Tate and David Munroe Tate, Jr. She was preceded in death by her husband and her son.
As a Christian, Mrs. Tate was devoted to her faith and the unfailing belief in the steadfast love of God. As a mentor and role model to so many, she never missed an opportunity to share her faith with others. She was very active in several churches where she lived: Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, First Baptist in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and First Baptist in Longview, Texas. Altogether she taught Sunday School classes for over 60 years, and was also very active in Women?s Missionary work. She loved to travel and saw many parts of the world. She was an avid gardener with an incredible green thumb, a talented painter and a gracious host who loved entertaining in her home. She made friends easily and was dearly loved in every community in which she lived.
Mrs. Tate is survived by her daughter, Jo Anne Tate Vermillion and husband Charles R. Vermillion of Longview, grandchildren David and Elizabeth Tate, Memphis, Tennessee; Mitch and Debbie Tate McCann, Wichita Falls, Texas; Kenneth and Becky Tate Faust, and Danny Tate, Nashville, Tennessee; Tracy and Amy Tate Tyler, Atlanta, Georgia; Todd and Carrie Tate Hansen, Little Rock, Arkansas; Stephen and Kathy Vermillion, Retha Vermillion Comer, Carey and Joan Vermillion Ward, James and Laura Vermillion, Longview, Texas; and John and Michelle Vermillion, Montgomery, Alabama. 22 great-grandchildren, and 7 great great grandchildren.
The family requests that memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Longview.
A memorial guest-book may be signed online at www.raderfh.com.
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