Dorothy May Yates

100 years

Born July 4, 1917 - Died July 15, 2017

Born and raised in Niantic, CT, Dorothy was the daughter of Delia and Fred Metcalf. She moved to Denver, CO in the 1940’s where she met and married Roy Yates. The couple moved to Tampa in the 1950’s.

Dorothy opened Yates Gallery of Homes after Roy’s death in 1968. Her business grew to five offices and 150 agents and brokers by 1983 when she sold it to Merrill Lynch Realty. She remained as a consultant until her retirement. Merrill Lynch-Yates was number one in the nation for closed residential sales during Dorothy’s tenure.

Committed to professional development of real estate sales people, Dorothy was active in the educational arm of the National Association of Realtors and on the National Committee and Editorial Board of the Realtors National Marketing Institute. She was one of the first brokers in the nation to receive the CRB designation (Certified Residential Broker), and GRI, (Graduate Realtors Institute).

In 1985 she married LTC (retired) Joseph B. “Pat” Patterson. They enjoyed six wonderful years of love, laughter, and travel until Pat’s sudden death.

Dorothy took the opportunity to travel after Pat’s death with her best friend and business associate, Joyce Kirschner, on many a fun and sometime wild Elder Hostel trip. Sadly, Joyce passed away several years ago. Life was just not as full without a best friend to share it with.

She was a member of Palma Ceia United Methodist Church; the Tampa Women’s Club; American Cancer Society; the Salvation Army Women’s auxiliary and a twenty-three year volunteer for Tampa General Hospital.

Dorothy is preceded in death by her husbands, Roy Yates and Pat Patterson; her daughter Sandra Yates; and step-son Roy Yates, Jr. She is survived by her daughter Vicki Yates Radford (Larry); grandson Keith Pounds (Kate) and great grandson Devon; granddaughter Lisa Pounds and great granddaughter Chloe DeRosa; step-grandchildren, Lindsay Wheeler (Sutton) and great grandchildren Betty, Wynn, and Virginia; and Adam Radford ( Lindsey); as well as grandchildren of Roy Yates, Jr.;

and countless friends and former associates.

The family requests memorial contributions be made to the Salvation Army, your local Hospice, or the charity of your choice. A celebration of Dorothy’s life will take place at a later time.