Freelon Pate

Freelon was born in Ambridge on February 3, 1932, and lived a life of impermanence and confusion until meeting his future wife, Mary Ellen (Tumpy) Schwartz, while attending Rochester High School. Her parents, William and Madeleine Schwartz, accepted him as their own, and Freelon referred to them as ‘Mom and Dad’ throughout his life.

Upon his 1950 graduation from Rochester, Freelon joined the U.S, Army and spent most of his service time based in Alaska during the Korean conflict. He and Tumpy were married on February 12, 1953, shortly following his discharge from the Army. During the 1950s, he began a twenty-five year career in the Production Control Dept. at Babcock & Wilcox, eventually rising to department manager. He also undertook the task of personally building a home for his family in Daugherty Township, which he and his wife occupied until they moved to Florida following his retirement from the Pittsburgh Tube Co. where he had spent the final decade of his working career as Vice President of Production and Sales. He also served as a board member of the Daugherty Twp. Planning Committee, as well as Colonial Clay Products of New Brighton, the Pastor/Parish committee of the First Methodist Church in Rochester, and as a trustee at Union Building and Loan in Bridgewater for three decades. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Geneva College as well as many certifications in the science of metallurgy. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge. He was also vital in assisting his son in ownership and operation of Mama Mimi’s Catering and Restaurant in Beaver, and Brighton Music Centers in New Brighton and Pittsburgh’s North Hills, as well as his grandsons’ ownership and operation of their businesses, including Graham’s Tree Service. Freelon was an avid golfer, a pastime he shared with his wife, and they enjoyed the final two decades of retirement as residents of Fernandina Beach, Florida, in which community he became close friends with some of the finest people he ever knew, including Chuck and Renee Pimsner, and Harold and Barbara Davenport.

He is survived by his wife of nearly sixty-nine years, Mary Ellen (Tumpy) Pate, Masonic Village. Sewickley, and his son, Bill, and Bill’s wife, Maggie, whom he regarded as his beloved daughter. He is also survived by two grandsons and their partners: Graham Pate (Mindy Calvin) of Ohioville, and Benjamin Pate (Yong Lee) of Washington, D.C. Also, four great-grandchildren, Bradlee and Graham Pate, Ohioville, Daniel Pate, Washington D.C., and Addison Pate. He also celebrated and warmly accepted his ‘bonus greats,’ James, Isaak, Carter, and Helen.

Friends will be received on Saturday, February 5, 2022 from 11am, until the time of funeral services at 1pm at the SAUL-GABAUER FUNERAL HOME, INC., 273 Route 68, Rochester (adjacent to the Sylvania Hills Memorial Park Mausoleum).