Walter Mcmurry (Mac) Pate

Walter McMurry (Mac) Pate, 86 of Maryville, passed away March 14, 2012, surrounded by loved ones at the UT Medical Center after a courageous battle with cancer. Mac is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, Barbara (Wells) Pate; Scott Blair, considered a second-son; sister, Irma Sue Durr, Escondido, CA; brother, George Pate, Walland, TN; several nieces and nephews, and special dog, Susie. Mac was predeceased by son, Mac Pate, Jr., mother, Irene (Henry) Pate and father, Walter Pate. Mac was born August 31, 1925, in Maryville, TN. He graduated Maryville High School and attended Maryville College. Mac was a life-long resident of Blount County and a successful dairy farmer for 63 years. Mac was very active in giving of his time and talent to his community both locally and nationally. His many activities and associations included: Fairview United Methodist Church, Blount County Farm Bureau, Foothills Farmers Co-Op Board, Blount County Livestock Association, Tennessee Valley Milk Producers, Dairy Herd Improvement Association, TN Cattlemen’s Association, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Development Board, Dairy Farmers of America, Southeast United Dairy Association, Mid-America Dairymen Board, and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Board. He enjoyed antique tractor restoration, working with the metal lathe in the farm shop and his favorite farm activity was ‘harvest time’. Mac Pate achieved much in his career as a dairy farmer and in his service to the agricultural community. In recent years, Mac was named Dairy Farmers of America, Member of Distinction, 2010; Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year for Tennessee, 2011; and most recently, December 2011, Mac received a special proclamation from the Blount County Commission and Blount County Mayor in recognition of his life-long achievements and service to the agricultural community. Those who knew Mac Pate as family, as a farmer, or as a friend, knew him to be an individual who remained constant during life in his determination to be a successful farmer and a leader for the good of his fellow man. One gains a sense of the breadth of his character by viewing the mountains that form a backdrop to the Pate home place. Just as these great mountains rise in the distance, Mac Pate rose up during his life time to give strength and leadership at many levels. He exemplified what it means to be an American Farmer, a man of compassion and a leader among leaders in the field of agriculture. Mac Pate cast a long shadow over the lives of many, and he will be sorely missed. Funeral services will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Jerry Russell officiating. The interment will follow in Magnolia Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6-8:00 p.m. Saturday at McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home. Honorary pallbearers are the current and former employees of the Mac Pate Dairy. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Fairview United Methodist Church for mission work in Zimbabwe. The church is at 2508 Old Niles Ferry Road, Maryville, TN 37803. McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home, Maryville 982-6812 www.mccammonammonsclick.com