John L. Tate, (91) of Abernethy Laurels, Newton, N.C. died June 14, 2018 at Catawba Regional Hospice following a brief illness. Born December 14, 1926 in Old Fort, N.C., he was the son of the late Addie Quinn Tate and E.M. Tate, Sr.

A member of First Methodist Church of Newton, Tate was a former Superintendent of Recreation for the City of Newton, and spent thirty-seven years in sales with Omni Supply Co. of Newton, which he founded and served as President, before his retirement in 1994. He was a director of the John Tate Red Devil Foundation, organizer and a former president of the Red Devil Booster Club, a charter member and former Exalted Ruler of the Newton Elks Lodge, a member of the local American Legion, served on the board of directors of Catawba Country Club, as well as the Newton Conover Board of Education and was a 2011 inductee into the NC Red Devil Athletic Hall of Fame.

A 1950 graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College, he played basketball, tennis and ran track there in the late forties, and later played basketball for the DeHart "Truckers," a semi-pro team in Hickory. A former paratroop sergeant, Mr. Tate served with the 11th Army Airborne Division intelligence section in the occupation of Japan at the close of World War II, and in the Army Reserves for four years.

He was the last surviving grand-son of Ist Lt. Robert Alexander Tate, 22nd NC Infantry, CSA, who fought in a number of battles during the Civil War, before losing an arm and being captured at Chancellorsville, Virginia.

John L. Tate, (91) of Abernethy Laurels, Newton, N.C. died June 14, 2018 at Catawba Regional Hospice following a brief illness. Born December 14, 1926 in Old Fort, N.C., he was the son of the late Addie Quinn Tate and E.M. Tate, Sr.

A member of First Methodist Church of Newton, Tate was a former Superintendent of Recreation for the City of Newton, and spent thirty-seven years in sales with Omni Supply Co. of Newton, which he founded and served as President, before his retirement in 1994. He was a director of the John Tate Red Devil Foundation, organizer and a former president of the Red Devil Booster Club, a charter member and former Exalted Ruler of the Newton Elks Lodge, a member of the local American Legion, served on the board of directors of Catawba Country Club, as well as the Newton Conover Board of Education and was a 2011 inductee into the NC Red Devil Athletic Hall of Fame.

A 1950 graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College, he played basketball, tennis and ran track there in the late forties, and later played basketball for the DeHart "Truckers," a semi-pro team in Hickory. A former paratroop sergeant, Mr. Tate served with the 11th Army Airborne Division intelligence section in the occupation of Japan at the close of World War II, and in the Army Reserves for four years.

He was the last surviving grand-son of Ist Lt. Robert Alexander Tate, 22nd NC Infantry, CSA, who fought in a number of battles during the Civil War, before losing an arm and being captured at Chancellorsville, Virginia.