William A Tate Jr.

Obituary

Bill Tate passed away Tuesday October 31st at Morningside Place in Overland Park, KS due to complications from a recent fall. He was 95.

Bill was born in Wentworth, MO. He lived in Kansas City, MO most of his life and was a graduate of Central HS. Bill grew up around music and learned to play the piano. As a result, he was drawn to the live music scene in KC during the heyday of Kansas City Jazz prior to WWII, and was accomplished enough the musicians would have him “sit in” during their breaks.

Bill was deeply patriotic and served in the US Navy during WWII. Past experience in KC grinding quartz radio crystals qualified him to work with a select group at the shipyard at Pearl Harbor for naval communications.

After the war he enrolled in the Piano Forte Technology course at the Conservatory of Music to learn piano tuning and maintenance and graduated in February of 1948. In the early 50s he was hired by the Baldwin piano company, as a tuner and technician, and for the next 25 years he did pre-concert tuning and standby repair work for the Kansas City Philharmonic, and with touring Baldwin artists such as Leonard Bernstein, Henry Mancini, Erroll Garner, Liberace, Marilyn Maye, Ferrante & Teicher, Victor Borge, Cleo Laine, and was often requested by name for return performances.

At the conservatory Bill met Patricia Ramsey, on a voice scholarship from Parsons, KS. They were married in 1949 for nearly 60 years and had 4 children.

For a brief time he was co-owner of a bar in mid-town KC called The Talk of The Town, but after that, he re-established a successful career as an independent tuner, technician and re-builder of grand pianos, and in the mid-70s brought his son Greg into the business with him for the next 30 years.

Bill was a devoted Catholic, a member of the congregation at St. Elizabeth’s Church and a member of Father Manion Council 1698 of the Knights of Columbus. He was a regular blood donor and contributor to a long list of charities and worthy causes.

For the last several years of his life he suffered from dementia that severely affected his short term memory, but all along he was able to maintain a positive outlook.

Bill was preceded in death by his father William Sr. and mother Margaret, his wife Pat, and his brother Frank. He is survived by his sister Mary Schepers, sons William/Chipp (Barbara), Greg (Linda) and Martin, and his daughter Melinda Murphy, grandchildren Chris (Becky) Tate, Kimberly and Jeffrey Tate, Ryan (Jessica) and Nina Elmore, and Kyra Tate, and great-grandchildren Isabella and Alexandra Tate, and Kaleb, Noelle and Ambellina Elmore.

Visitation with the family will be at the McGilley Funeral Home, 20 West Main in Kansas City, MO on Monday November 6th from 5 to 7:00PM followed by the saying of the rosary. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 Tuesday morning at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, 2 East Main Street in Kansas City, MO.