JANET VIRGINIA JORDAN TATE

TATE, JANET VIRGINIA JORDAN Janet Virginia Jordan Tate (81) loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, died in her sleep in the early morning hours of Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at age 81. She had recently been in failing health due to multiple problems related to her heart and lungs. Mrs. Tate was born in Birmingham, Alabama, Dec. 14, 1931 to E. C. "Gene" and Annie Jordan whose musical family had been residing in Birmingham for many years. The family members were actively involved in the ministry of Ruhama Baptist Church. Mr. Jordan had been a highly respected director of several local high school and community bands and Mrs. Jordan taught violin lessons and was a member of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Tate was the ninth child and the youngest of 7 girls in their family of 10 children. Each of Mrs. Tate's siblings learned to play several instruments. She played the flute and piano, though she eventually became primarily a vocalist. When Mrs. Tate was 17, she studied voice with the Julliard faculty, learning the "Bel Canto" technique she practiced the rest of her life. She later studied at Howard College (now Samford University) and the Claremont Graduate School, earning Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Vocal Music Performance, respectively. While at Howard College mutual friends introduced her to John Tate who was attending Birmingham Southern College, another local institution. The two of them actually grew up living less than a mile from each other and both attended Woodlawn High School. They were married in Birmingham in October of 1954 and spent their first three years together in Sylacauga, Alabama where they both taught in the local schools and welcomed their first child before moving to Dallas, Texas. After Mr. Tate finished graduate school at Southern Methodist University, they lived for a time in San Jose, California, where Mrs. Tate gave birth to a second son. Mrs. Tate was a working mother, teaching vocal music in public schools at the primary and secondary levels in Dallas and San Jose as well as previously in Sylacauga, Alabama. In 1964, the Tates settled in Claremont, California where Mrs. Tate earned a master's degree in vocal music from Claremont Graduate University and taught vocal music in the Alta Loma and Central school districts in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Later, she developed an interest in home economics, particularly sewing, and taught in that area until retiring in 1987. Aside from her professional career, Mrs. Tate was known as a soprano soloist in the southern California area. Her solo performance experience included singing in the arena in Ephesus, Turkey where the apostle Paul preached and singing on HCJB radio in Quito, Ecuador. Locally, she was a soloist with the University of La Verne's Choir and Orchestra (1984) as well as with the Claremont United Methodist Church Choir and the Pilgrim Congregational Church Choir in Pomona. Mrs. Tate's forte was performing solos in large works, such as the Verdi and Mozart Requiems and Beethoven's Mass in C major. One of Mrs. Tate's favorite retirement pastimes was travel. She and her husband visited the British Isles, France, Germany, Spain, China, Russia and Austria and, while in the latter, enjoyed singing together with the Classical Music Seminar participants in Eisenstadt.

One of her favorite destinations, though, was ""home,"" by which she meant Alabama and, more specifically, Birmingham. Much of her family stayed in that area and raised their families, so it was always a joy for Mrs. Tate to visit with her kinfolk.
There's a saying, ""Once a Southerner, always a Southerner."" After a few years in California, Mrs. Tate's Southern accent faded until relatives insisted she sounded like a Yankee. She still identified as a Southerner, however, and loved to wear her GRITS hat: i.e. ""Girls Raised in The South."" And yes, she did often cook grits for breakfast.
Most recently, the 2012 family reunion drew her, for the last time, to see her ""homeland"" and to hug the people who meant so much to her. Just after that, she and her husband flew to Missouri to see their son, grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, a visit that will be cherished by her family for many years.
Ms. Tate couldn't tell a joke-she always started off with the punch-line-but she had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh, her husband said. She was a people person who met people easily and made friends quickly, an ability that was no more evident than during her last years at Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Claremont, California, where she continually made new friendships and renewed old ones.
Mrs. Tate is survived by her husband, John Tate, of Claremont; by her sons and daughters-in-law, Paul and Barbara Tate of Wright City, Missouri and David and Tammy Tate of Menifee, California; by her grandchildren, Lora (Tate) and Jason Jacobson of Kahoka Missouri, John Paul and Sarah Tate of High Ridge, Missouri, Cheryl (Tate) and Ryan Hatch of Chicago, Illinois and Gordon Tate of Wright City Missouri; and by 4 great-grandchildren, Lance Jacobson and William, Kalina and Joshua Tate.
Mrs. Tate is also survived by 2 sisters, Irene (Jordan) Caplan of Dalton, Massachusetts and Maude Ellen (Jordan) Brown of Valley Grande, Alabama, and by one brother, David Jordan of Birmingham, Alabama. She was preceded in death by 2 brothers, Eugene and Timothy Jordan; by 4 sisters, Martha (Jordan) Stewart, Sara (Jordan) Coe, Carolyn (Jordan) McCracken and JoAnn (Jordan) Johnston; by a number of nieces and nephews and, most recently, by one great-grandchild, Sawyer Jacobson.
A memorial service for Mrs. Tate will be held on Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. at Claremont United Methodist Church, located at 211 W. Foothill Blvd. in Claremont, California.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Cotty College FAIB, 1000 W. Austin Blvd., Nevada, MO 64772-2790, or to Mt. San Antonio Gardens Homeship Fund, 900 E. Harrison Ave., Pomona, CA 91767 Please write ""In Memory of Janet Tate"" on the memo line.