Merle
Merle "Pete" Cate
d. June 29, 2007
Merle "Pete" Cate, age 81 of Savanna, Illinois, passed away on Friday, June 29, 2007 at his home. Cremation rites will be accorded. A Graveside Inurnment will take place at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 3, 2007 in Lower York Cemetery. Memorials may be sent in Pete’s name to Heartland Pet Welfare, Inc. 2720 Wacker Road, Savanna, Illinois 61074. Condolences may be sent to the family home at 706 Poplar Street, Savanna, Illinois 61074.
Pete was born in Savanna July 25, 1925 the son of Hubert and Gladys (Millard) Cate of Thomson. Pete graduated from Thomson High School with the class of 1943. On March 27, 1948 he married Joyce Marshall in Clinton, Iowa. They celebrated fifty nine years of marriage. Pete served in the United States Navy during World War II in the South Pacific. He was employed by the Milwaukee Railroad for eighteen years. He also was employed at the Mississippi Palisades State Park for nineteen years and retired as Park Superintendent in 1987. Pete served two terms on the Carroll County Board and was a tax assessor in York Township and Savanna Township, and was a past member of the Thomson American Legion.
Pete enjoyed playing golf, his bulldogs and his cats. He also loved driving his car through the Palisades State Park and Marquette Park where he loved to monitor the river. He was an avid reader and enjoyed going to the library from an early age.
Survivors include his wife, Joyce of Savanna; two daughters, Charlotte Cate of Hampton, Virginia and Charlene (Gene) Gale of Windsor, Virginia; a son, Bradley (Kay) Cate of Savanna; one granddaughter, Jessica Mabrey; one brother, Hubert (Carmen) Cate of Metropolis, Illinois; two sisters, Betty Smeltekop of Milford, Michigan and Norma (Cliff) Durward of Thomson; and many nieces and nephews; two sisters-in-law Carolyn Lancaster of Mt. Carroll, Illinois and Edith Cate of Thomson; and a brother-in-law Warren Waltrip of Byron, Illinois
Pete was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Mary Waltrip; and a brother, Millard Cate.
Pete was born in Savanna July 25, 1925 the son of Hubert and Gladys (Millard) Cate of Thomson. Pete graduated from Thomson High School with the class of 1943. On March 27, 1948 he married Joyce Marshall in Clinton, Iowa. They celebrated fifty nine years of marriage. Pete served in the United States Navy during World War II in the South Pacific. He was employed by the Milwaukee Railroad for eighteen years. He also was employed at the Mississippi Palisades State Park for nineteen years and retired as Park Superintendent in 1987. Pete served two terms on the Carroll County Board and was a tax assessor in York Township and Savanna Township, and was a past member of the Thomson American Legion.
Pete enjoyed playing golf, his bulldogs and his cats. He also loved driving his car through the Palisades State Park and Marquette Park where he loved to monitor the river. He was an avid reader and enjoyed going to the library from an early age.
Survivors include his wife, Joyce of Savanna; two daughters, Charlotte Cate of Hampton, Virginia and Charlene (Gene) Gale of Windsor, Virginia; a son, Bradley (Kay) Cate of Savanna; one granddaughter, Jessica Mabrey; one brother, Hubert (Carmen) Cate of Metropolis, Illinois; two sisters, Betty Smeltekop of Milford, Michigan and Norma (Cliff) Durward of Thomson; and many nieces and nephews; two sisters-in-law Carolyn Lancaster of Mt. Carroll, Illinois and Edith Cate of Thomson; and a brother-in-law Warren Waltrip of Byron, Illinois
Pete was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Mary Waltrip; and a brother, Millard Cate.
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