Tate, Manson Booth

The Rev. Dr. Manson Booth Tate, 99, of Dublin, died April 22, 2011, at his home after several years of declining health. He was born September 26, 1911, in Charlotte County, one of 13 children of Vincent Carrington Tate and Jennie Mag Watkins Tate of Saxe. He was preceded in death by 11 of his siblings and, on March 20, 2000, by his wife of 59 years, the former Helen Holmes, of Marion, whom he met while a pastor in Marion. He was a graduate of Presbyterian Junior College, Presbyterian College, and Union (Presbyterian) Theological Seminary, Richmond. He served many Presbyterian churches over several decades: Associate Pastor of Royal Oak, Marion, as well as Pastor of Royal Oak’s four chapels (Spruce Creek, Walker’s Creek, Nick’s Creek and Matson Chapel); Pastor of Jewell Ridge; First, Appalachia; New Dublin Presbyterian; and, until his official retirement in 1978, the Dublin and Belspring Presbyterian Churches. He then continued active service with interim pastorates at First Presbyterian, Pulaski; Anderson Memorial, Pulaski (twice); Walker’s Creek, Blacksburg; Green Ridge, Roanoke; Salem Presbyterian, Salem; Narrows, Pearisburg, and Dublin Presbyterian Churches. For 10 years he was Chaplain at Saint Albans Psychiatric Hospital in Radford. In 1964, he was named Rural Minister of the Year for Virginia by Progressive Farmer Magazine and the Candler School of Theology of Emory University, Atlanta, Ga. In 1968 he received the Honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree from King College, Bristol, Tenn. On September 26, 2001, the mayor of Dublin proclaimed it Reverend Manson B. Tate Day to honor his 90th birthday. He was voted Grand Marshal of the 2005 Dublin Christmas Parade. At the May 7, 2009, meeting of the Presbytery of the Peaks, he was recognized for the 70th year anniversary of his ordination as a minister. At different times over the years he was a member of the Marion Rotary Club, the Appalachia Lions Club, the Dublin Ruritan Club and the Pulaski County Ministerial Association, holding various offices in each. Among other endeavors, he was active with the Christmas Basket Program and the Weekday Religious Education Program in Dublin. He received the Builder Award from the Henry Clay Masonic Lodge #2807, Dublin. He was a well-known builder of fine furniture, including over 25 grandfather clocks and a Communion table for the Chapel at King College. Dr. Tate was highly regarded and much loved in all his pastorates and in the associations he built up during his lifetime. He was untiring in “going above and beyond the call of duty” and in demonstrating concern for his church and community members. He was very much at home with the people of Pulaski County. Numerous relatives and friends have been fortunate recipients of his beautifully handcrafted furniture. He was a consummate family man, teaching his children many skills and managing his abundant garden every summer, sharing with neighbors and friends. He was a gentle soul with a quiet and kind sense of humor. It would be difficult to calculate how many weddings, baptisms and funerals he conducted. He was unfailingly devoted to his wife Helen, “my girl,” during the last years of her life, taking daily physical and spiritual care of her. Dr. Tate is survived by his daughter, Carolyn Elizabeth (Betsy) Tate, of Dublin; his son, Robert (Bob) Carrington Tate and wife, Rebecca, of Lithonia, Ga.; three grandchildren, Sarah Tate Gannaway and husband, Bruce, of Ft. Belvoir; Mary Charlotte Tate Bruce and husband, Jeff, of Cumming, Ga.; and Andrew Tate and wife, Allison, of Athens, Ga. Also surviving are three great-granddaughters, Helen Grace Gannaway, Mary Tate Gannaway and Anna Charlotte Bruce; one sister and brother-in-law, Almeyda and Richard Barksdale, of Blackstone; one sister-in-law, Sybil Tate, of Greensboro, N.C.; and many nieces and nephews. Also surviving are his “special children of the heart,” Selma and Sam Jennings, of Bristol, Tenn. He is also missed by his two Siamese cats, Ben and EmmeLou. The family would like to express sincere appreciation to his home health and hospice caregivers, Kathleen Horton, Debbie Akers, RN, Jeanne Grant, Sherri O’Dell, Laura Vazquez, Beverly Caldwell, RN, and the Rev. John Lemasters. A service celebrating his life will be held at Dublin Presbyterian Church 3 p.m. Monday, April 25, 2011. Officiating ministers will be the Rev. Joe McCoy, the Rev. Jeannette Tagg and the Rev. Andrew Taylor-Troutman. Visitation will be held at the church after the service. A graveside service will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Marion, with the Rev. Mark Ross officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that memorials be made to the Manson B. Tate Scholarship Fund at King College, 1350 King College Road, Bristol, TN 37620; the Pulaski Daily Bread, P.O. Box 824, Pulaski, VA 24301; Dublin Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 2027, Dublin, VA 24084; or the Pulaski County Humane Society, P.O. Box 1046, Dublin, VA 24084. Arrangements by Stevens Funeral Home, Pulaski.