Mike Tate

Visually impaired from birth, Michael was a graduate of Edgewater High School and the University of Central Florida. He held a variety of customer service jobs, including at Sprint and his favorite, Lighthouse Works! He also spent some time as a licensed massage therapist.

Despite any perceived limitations, Michael moved through life with an optimistic outlook and a sense of humor that brought smiles to his family, a broad community of friends and fellow patients at a dialysis center, where he also spent hundreds of long hours before receiving a kidney transplant nearly 15 years ago.

The family would like to thank his transplant doctor and longtime friend Dr. Joe Warren, a host of caregivers, especially those at Orlando Health and Rehabilitation Center, a very special nurse practitioner and, in his final days, the hospice nurses and chaplains from VITAS.

Michael was brave in his battle these past years, never complaining and always quick with a joke. He will be greatly missed, but his family and closest friends draw some comfort from knowing that his Guide Dogs - Freda, Sky, Bjorn and Pluto - greeted him with leaps of joy, happy to lead the way on his next journey.

Michael is survived by his devoted mother, Betty Tate, sister Dixie, brother Richard, and sister-in-law Joanne, along with two nieces, three nephews, three great-nieces and a great-nephew.

A service celebrating Michael's life is being planned. Donations in his memory to Lighthouse Works! in Orlando, FL, or Seeing Eye in Morristown, NJ, would be appreciated in lieu of flowers.

Please join us in remembering Mike Tate by visiting our memorial at www.baldwinfairchildwestaltamonte.com