Obituary of Carlton Ray Tate

Carlton Ray Tate, age 60 of Conroe, formerly of Red River County, passed away Monday July 20, 2009 in Conroe. Mr. Tate was born July 24, 1948 in Clarksville to the late Robert and Bernice Jones Tate. The baby of the family, he was raised along with his four sisters, Bobbie, Dorothy, Mattie and Eva Joyce. Carl proudly served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was stationed in Frankfort, Germany. Upon his honorable discharge, Carl made his living as a long-haul truck driver, working for Sears, M.S. Carriers and Lasco Bathware. Known as “ Taterbug” to his CB friends, he clocked well over one-million miles before being forced into early retirement as the result of a back injury. On December 29, 1967, Carl married Vicki Waggoner. After many years of trying to conceive, Carl and Vicki welcomed their only child into the world on February 25, 1979; Jeanie Marie. Living in Kaufman, Carl passed his time fishing, cultivating his vegetable garden and solving the world’s problems at the local coffee shop. He also spent quite a bit of time tending to the menagerie he assembled for his daughter ( including, just to name a few, Rowdy the dog, Butterscotch the pony and Bubba the goat). During the last years of Carl’s life, he resided in Conroe, with his cousin Carolyn Bannister. Together they raised and sold Yorkshire Terrier puppies. Carl is survived by his ex-wife and friend Vicki Tate; daughter, Jeanie Goodwin and husband Robert; sisters, Bobbie Thompson of Clarksville, Dorothy Fletcher of Bagwell, Mattie Griggs of Bagwell and Eva Reed. Funeral services will be 10:00 a.m. Friday, July 24, 2009 in Lindeman Chapel of Clarksville Funeral Home with Rev. Ron Kellam officiating. Burial will follow in Tuggle Springs Cemetery under the direction of Clarksville Funeral Home. Pallbearers are Bubba and Steven Stringer, Sammy Faulkner, Raymond Long , Ricky Roberts, Butch Thompson, Tim and Robert Crawford. Honorary Pallbearers are T. R. Stringer, Bill Owens, James Larry Smith, Sidney Chapman and Bill McGuire.