Byron Tate

Byron, the first child of Maidee and Wallace Tate, was born on December 20, 1950 in Baytown, TX, where he lived until 1969 when he moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas. Byron met two of his lifelong friends, Mark Browne and Ewell Clarke, in the neighborhood where he and his sister Cindy grew up. In high school, he excelled academically and performed in the marching band and jazz ensemble, winning high honors for his proficiency on the trombone.

At UT, Byron soon switched his major from civil engineering to music, earning a Bachelor of Music with high honors in 1974. During his years at UT, his life definitively changed when he met Jesus. At that time he joined a campus ministry called The Well Community, where the people he met shaped his life and love of music. Byron began leading worship gatherings, a ministry that continued throughout his life. He was gifted not just with excellent musicianship but also with a talent for leading others into God’s presence. During this time Byron met his first wife, Sylvia Warrington.

They moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he pursued graduate studies and earned a Doctorate of Music Arts in Composition from the University of Michigan. While completing his doctoral program, Byron took an electronic music class in which he built an electronic studio for U-M. This experience gave him the foundation of computer skills that would become his career. They attended a large multi-church group in Michigan where Byron played a classic Hammond organ and harmonica, performing regionally and at large conferences.

Moving back to Austin after completing his A.Mus D. in 1979, he joined New Covenant, the new church started by his Well Community friends. Byron led worship there for over 20 years and mentored many young people in the methods of worship music.

His other musical projects included a Christian play called Grey City, a soundtrack for a stage production of Dracula, and playing blues harmonica with various blues bands around Austin. Byron played guitar, piano and harmonica fluently and dabbled in other instruments. He sang beautifully and composed songs throughout his life.

While Byron’s main passion was music, his career focused on software engineering. He worked for Schlumberger Technologies for 31 years before retiring. Byron continued to work as a consultant up until he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2021. He loved his work and always said how glad he was that he discovered programming as a career.

Byron had several life long passions including his faith, his family, music, technology, and science fiction. He always looked forward to his weekly visits with his father, Wallace. To many of his friends, Byron may be best known as a lover of the outdoors. He enjoyed windsurfing and could frequently be seen zooming across Lake Travis in his younger years. He went on annual hiking trips in Utah and elsewhere, with his friends and his father, and he also enjoyed mountain biking and jogging.

In 2001, Byron met and married Melissa, his beloved companion for the remainder of his life. After a brief job transfer to Sugarland, they settled down again in Dripping Springs for nearly 12 years. The couple filled their days working from home together, gardening, watching football, reading, studying their faith, woodworking, and caring for their dogs, Chuy, Panda and Chloe.

Byron was a kind, loving, hardworking, highly intelligent and faithful man of God, and he will be missed by all who knew him.

He was preceded in death by his father, Wallace Tate, and mother, Maidee Tate.

He is survived by his wife, Melissa Tate; daughters, Samara Mendez and Larisa Lang; grandchildren Savannah, Penny, Violet and Archer; his sister, Cindy Streiff; nieces, Catherine Deatherage and Erin Duncan, and great nephews Ransom and Jackson.

A memorial service for Byron will be held Saturday, April 26, 2025 at 10:00 AM at Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home, 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, TX 78628, followed by a light reception until 1:00 PM. Texas casual attire is welcome.