David Kirk Tate

David Kirk Tate, a lawyer, a soldier, an athlete and a gentle and gracious man, died on Friday, August 11, 2017, He was 78 years old. Dave arrived in Winston-Salem in 1977 to become RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company's first African-American attorney. His long tenure at Reynolds included what he considered the crown jewel of his career, handling most of the legal work on the contracts required for the construction of the gigantic plant at Tobaccoville. He quickly became active in his new community, was an early participant in Leadership Winston-Salem, volunteered with Legal Aid and served on the board of the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem and the Experiment in Self-Reliance. He was also a volunteer assistant to the track coach at Parkland High School. Part of Dave's lifestyle was making lasting friends wherever he went. He enjoyed pinochle nights with friends at his home, dominoes with another group, riding his motorcycle to work and on longer trips with a buddy. He ran with another friend for years at the par course on Silas Creek Parkway. He loved all music - from the jazz he learned listening to his father's records to the glorious sounds of the Winston-Salem Symphony and Chorale. Dave was born on April 20, 1939, in Detroit to Izona Kirk Tate and Andrew Golden Tate. They raised their firstborn son in the Conant Gardens neighborhood, where he played with cousins and was encouraged by neighbors as he delivered papers, shined shoes, scrounged enough parts to build himself a bicycle, made good grades and learned to play the violin. He discovered at age 15 that he could excel as an athlete by running, which he did for the remainder of his life, earning citywide honors on the cross-country team at Pershing High School. At Michigan State University, where he again cemented lifelong friendships, he majored in math and ROTC, which led to his six years in the United States Army. During that period he learned Spanish at the Presidio of Monterey in California and guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Colombia. His final year of service was as a captain with the 101st Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam. On returning home in 1968, he earned his law degree at the University of Detroit. He then joined the firm of Patmon, Young & Kirk. Dave was a longtime member, and former president, of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem and a senior member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is survived by one son, DeMarcus David Holland, who lives in Detroit, along with three grandchildren: DeMarcus Holland, Jr. (Shinkia), Corey Holland (Mondrea) and Kyrah Holland, and four great grandchildren: DeMarcus III, Paityn, Paige and Caiden Holland, and one daughter Lisa Arlayne Tate Jenkins, who lives in Clemmons with her husband, Anthony Jenkins, and their daughters Larissa and Gabrielle Jenkins. Dave is also survived by one brother Ricky Tate (Georgia) of Detroit, and a special friend, Joan Dawson, along with a host of other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Michael Tate. A memorial service will be held Thursday, August 17, at 6:00 pm, at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel, 3315 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC 27103. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Veterans helping Veterans, 3614 Glenn Ave., NE, Winston-Salem, NC 27105. Online condolences may be sent at www.hayworth-miller.com.

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