Geneva A. Tate

Geneva A. Tate, 92, of Ridgedale, Mo., passed away peacefully on January 5, 2018, at Forsyth Nursing & Rehab in Forsyth, Mo. 

Geneva is survived by her three children and their spouses, Dennis and Rebecca Tate of Branson, Ken and Janice Tate of Omaha, Ark., and Donna and Ronnie Byrd of Mabelvale, Ark. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, along with a host of other family and friends who mourn her passing.

Geneva was born April 16, 1925, in Hollister, Mo., to Doskey F. and Mae (Blevins) Stamps. She was a lifelong resident of Taney County, and always declared her pride in being a “hillbilly.”
Her father died when Geneva was just four months old. Her early life in the Ozarks was austere in those pre-Depression and Depression years, as she and her two older brothers Robert and Donald were raised by her widowed mother with the help of a special uncle, Sherman Blevins. The family lived in the old mining village of Melva, south of Hollister, and Geneva attended the one-room school there through the eighth grade.

In 1939, she and her family moved to the Fruit Farm area and she attended Hollister High School, graduating in 1943. After high school, she traveled to Kansas City and worked in a defense plant during World War II. 

Returning to the Ozarks after the war, she met the love of her life, Louis Tate, and they married on April 2, 1947. This union was blessed with three children, Dennis, Kenneth and Donna. After the children were of school age, Geneva worked as a seamstress at the garment factory in Branson and later as a cook at the College of the Ozarks. After retirement, she returned to her love of sewing, tailoring clothes for many clients, friends and family. Geneva loved gardening, cultivating both flowers and vegetables.

In addition, she devoted her retired life to helping others. After her children were grown, she cared for her mother, both her brothers and her aunt, Carrie Kelley, until their deaths. Her greatest loss was when Louis died in 1997, just a month before their 50th wedding anniversary.

Louis and Geneva were persons of faith; both were baptized and attended Cedar Valley Church. It was that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that sustained her and helped her maintain a joy of life that radiated outward to all who knew her, despite her many setbacks and losses.

In the last decade of her life, she sold her home and property that was adjacent to Top of the Rock in Ridgedale to John L. Morris, owner of Bass Pro Shops and Big Cedar Lodge. She was given a life estate and continued to live in her home until she was too frail to continue. The kindness, compassion and love shown to her by Mr. Morris, Debbie Bennett and the entire Big Cedar family was at times overwhelming to her and her family. She considered John her adoptive son.

In 2015, Geneva moved to Forsyth Nursing & Rehab where she made many new friends. Her last year was brightened by her next-door neighbor, Lucille Merideth, who became like a sister to her. The family is indebted to the doctors and nursing staff at Forsyth and that of Preferred Hospice, who took such good care of her.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, Jan. 9, from 5 to 6 p.m. at Snapp-Bearden Funeral Home of Branson. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Cedar Valley Community Church with Pastor Rick Youngblood officiating. Burial will follow in the Cedar Valley Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Ken Tate, Ronnie Byrd, Chad Tate, Travis Holt, Nick Shurtleff, Jon Guinnip, Shelby Bodenhamer, and John L. Morris. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Brian Dieterle and her beloved Tate nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Cedar Valley Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 1251, Hollister, MO 65673.

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