Gene Archer Pate

Gene Archer Pate passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on May 21, 2022. He was born on April 10, 1930 in Leon County to Jasper Lee Pate and Edness Cathern Welch. He married Dorothy Faye Bain on November 1, 1947 in Centerville, Texas. They moved to DeSoto in 1950 where Gene worked for Mrs. Baird’s Bread and then AER for fifty-one years. Through the decades he enjoyed spending time with his daughters and eventually his sons-in-law and grandchildren through numerous outdoor activities. He built and raced race cars, enjoyed riding horses on trail rides and participating in play days. He loved to spend weekends at the lake pulling his girls skiing and was also an avid fisherman. He and his wife joined the Irving Bass Club in 1967 and eventually became lifetime members. Gene made countless friends through these hobbies over the years. He was a man generous with his time, always willing to sit, listen, share his wisdom, and teach the next generation. He was loved, adored, and respected by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife of seventy-four years and four daughters and their husbands, Raymond and Dorothy Smith of Rockett, Texas, Michael and Mary Martin of Ovilla, Texas, Doug and Billie Clark of Irving, Texas, and Paul and Janice Stanford of Red Oak, Texas. He is also survived by nine grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Wesley and Edward Pate, one sister, Etta Mae Kerby and one granddaughter, Dawn Pendarvis. Visitation will be held at Eastridge Baptist Church in Red Oak, Texas on Friday, May 27, 2022 at 1 pm with a service to follow at 2pm. Pallbearers will be Clint Smith, Jeffrey Smith, Justin Stanford, Clayton Stanford, Nolan Smith, Taylor Bright, and Dane Allman. Honorary pallbearers will be Tommy Kerby, Larry Kerby, Jeffrey Pendarvis, Mark Peteet, and Douglas Clark IV. Interment will follow in Red Oak Cemetery, Red Oak, TX.