Lawrence R. Pate

'''Seeing is believing.''? For many, those words simply represent a motto. But for Lawrence R Pate, it summarized in every way who he was. He was modest, quiet and observant, taking in everything around him and always thinking before acting. He was a realist, someone who was efficient and practical in everything he did. He was a friendly person who truly cared about those around him.''''''''''''Larry was born on August 2, 1952 at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, In. He was the son of Frank and Betty Pate. Raised in Terre Haute, Indiana, he followed his parents and siblings to St. Petersburg, Florida, in his early twenties, as he was very close to his family. He was brought up to be tolerant and trustworthy. As a child, he learned to be conscientious, and responsible. These were all traits that he would carry with him throughout his life.''''''''''''As a young boy, Larry was always aware of how others around him felt and this quality served him well. With a deep capacity to tolerate the feelings of others, Larry was generally able to avoid conflicts. He also had the ability to relate well with his family and friends, being raised with two brothers, Rob and Randy. Larry was constantly involved in activities with his family. He and his siblings deeply cared for each other and shared many life experiences over the years.''''''''''''Growing up, Larry was one of those children who didn'?t need to be in the center of a whirlwind of activity. Larry was never pushy when it came to games and other activities, but rather, he was able to enjoy the pure fun these could bring. In just about everything he did as a child, Larry was intent on pleasing both the adults and the other children around him. He took part in a number of activities as a child, including baseball, helping his dad build a boat, and learning to work on cars from his father. He was a boy scout for many years and earned many badges. In his spare time he liked baseball cards, camping, boy scout outings and sports.''''''''''''Larry enjoyed learning. He always had a great memory and was particularly skilled at retaining factual information. Larry often showed great concentration and was competent at completing the tasks at hand. Good with details, Larry was painstaking and accurate in his efforts. All of these talents culminated in a successful high school career. He graduated from Garfield High School in 1970. Larry enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite subjects and teachers. His favorite classes in high school were history and chemistry. The teacher he enjoyed learning from the most was Mr. Engel, his chemistry teacher. Larry was involved in multiple organizations within his high school setting, including student council, a member of the football and baseball teams.''''''''''''Larry had a good disposition for the challenges of college. He always enjoyed reading. In fact, Larry seemed to absorb and remember everything he read. Not all things came easily to him; however,he found success by being a diligent and accurate person who would dig into a project and work until it reached its completion. He was very thorough and labored long and hard in order to reach his goals. Larry attended Rose Polytechnic Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana, from 1970-1972, a very well respected engineering school. His favorite courses were chemistry, engineering classes. He received an ROTC scholarship to attend Rose Poly.''''''''''''Most folks would say that Larry was shy until they got to know him. Those who were privileged to know him well learned that he was a solid, good friend. Larry was reluctant to generalize about people, and he based his friendships on his personal experiences. Because of this, he trusted those people that he truly knew. He was concerned about how those around him felt, and he always seemed to uncover the positive side of people. He could relate to others and had the ability to see their point of view, to '''walk a mile in their shoes,''? as the saying goes. The friends that he made, Larry kept. While growing up, some of his best friends were Bruce Smith, and Dave Bates. Larry had many friends while growing up and continued to remain friends with those in his neighborhood as they continued through their school lives.'''''''''' On April 23, 2001, Lawrence married Barbara Heath at Open Bible Church of Norco, Ca. He was totally committed to Barb and maintained traditional ideals about marriage. It was as if he naturally sensed his spouse'?s needs. Although Larry disliked conflict, he did not take flight from discord, but rather sought to preserve harmony even during the most trying times.''''''''''''Larry was a good father to his stepchild, Erica. He had '''old fashioned''? parental values and could handle typical family conflicts in a fair and calm manner. Because he trusted emotions, Larry was reluctant to force issues and used gentle persuasion to resolve situations. In this way he seemed to radiate an aura of warmth and caring to those around him, always thinking before acting. ''''''''''If you gave Larry a deadline, he would meet it. At work, Larry was always on task. Without hesitation, Larry could adhere to any assignment and see it through to its completion. His primary occupation was working as an autocad draftsman in the civil engineering business. He was employed for all of his career in multiple companies involving civil engineering. During that time, Larry was able to quickly grasp concrete ideas and could organize and plan the best way to accomplish things with remarkable consistency. ''''''''''''Larry liked to experience things first hand, in addition to simply learning about them. This quality influenced Larry's choice of leisure time activity. His favorite pursuits were camping, fishing,working on cars, and watching the history channel. ''''''''''''While thorough and measured in his approach to things, Larry often liked to physically do things rather than just think about them. He was like that with sports. In high school, Larry played football and baseball. Recreational sports included golf, fishing while living in Florida. He also enjoyed the statistical data and the facts behind the sports. In this way, he was something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching his favorite teams whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list was football.''''''''''''Larry was practical and grounded and based his decisions on first hand experience. He was responsible and liked working to achieve results rather than just chattering about possibilities. Politically, Larry was a very open person to candidates, mainly an independent voter and thinker, based on the candidate considering fairness to the middle class.''''''''''''An individual who respected and maintained traditional values, his faith was important to Larry. His compassion, consideration and sympathy toward others was evident in his personal beliefs. Larry attended church with his spouse for several years prior to both being unable physically to attend any longer.''''''''''''Anyone who traveled or went on vacation with Larry had smooth sailing. He would start early and examine all of the possibilities, selecting the best and most effective options. Favorite vacations included a wonderful trip he took with his spouse to Puerto Vallerta, which both enjoyed greatly. Both he and his spouse also enjoyed returning to Florida to visit family and friends, since both had lived in this state a considerable amount of time.'''''''''''' He had a cat he owned with his spouse, Hunter, with whom he became very close. He also had several finches during his marriage. Larry loved dogs and had a dog, Willard in his early twenties, and Twinkee as a young boy. Larry was a great animal lover and did not want to see any animal suffer or be treated badly. Larry was as loyal to his pets as they were to him.''''''''''''Lawrence passed away on January 6, 2012 at his own home, peacefully. His death was very unexpected, it was determined he was found to have multiple pulmonary emboli. He is preceded in death by his parents, Francis M. And Betty Jean Pate. He is survived by his spouse, Barbara Pate, two brothers and their spouses, Robert and Debra Pate, Randall and Sandra Pate. He also has two nieces, Erin Hagerman, and Jessica Carrier (Kevin),and a nephew, Matthew Pate, and three cousins. He is also survived by a stepdaughter, Erica Heath, daughter to his spouse. Services were at Chapel of the Chimes in San Jose, Ca. Larry loved the water, and always enjoyed fishing, boating, and enjoying the ocean in Florida and California. He wanted to be cremated, with his ashes distributed between being scattered in the ocean in California, and additional ashes to be placed beside both of his parents' ashes in Florida. Lawrence was a trustworthy, pragmatic and sympathetic person, the kind of man to whom everyone was drawn. He was thorough and practical. Lawrence Pate was very literal with his words. You always knew where you stood with Lawrence. He will be missed.