Tate Thorson

TATE RENEGADE THORSON (née Rachel Loraine Thorson) Born: Sept. 30th, 1972, La Mesa, CA; Died: Aug. 22nd, 2010 Riverside, CA Tate was our son, brother, uncle, beloved friend and counsellor. Born in San Diego, grew up 10 years in Toronto, Canada (1974-1984), and attended Gage Middle School and Poly High School (Class of 1990) here in Riverside, as well as UCR (Class of 1996), including a year abroad in Brighton, England. Tate was a curious fellow, intellectually probing, and decidedly individual in his outlook on life and people. He was immensely sensitive to detail, to nuance. His wit was drier than a fine Scottish single-malt whiskey, loving to deliver poignant punch lines with a deadpan expression, tho\' a slight twinkle in his eye was distinctly perceptible. Tate began his professional life as a teacher of English at Ramona High here in Riverside after completing his studies at UCR. In 2000 he moved to L.A., continuing to teach, to write prose, as well as writing and performing his own music, eventually moving on to providing counselling. Tate had a close coterie of friends. Tate touched, affected and titillated many - through the music he wrote and performed on his beloved guitars (he was in a series of bands, lastly "Dusty Drawers and the Pantalones"), through his teaching, and especially through his empathic counselling of at-risk youth in L.A.. Tate contracted cancer initially in 2002 and continued to lead his life jocularly, doggedly, and sententiously despite the phases of physical fatigue the illness and its treatment engendered. A couple of years before his death he determined that his identity to date as "Rachel" was not who he was, and became the Tate he sensed within. He is deeply missed and yet all who have been affected by him bear a piece of "The Tate-ness" gleaming vivaciously within them. As was his wish, a scholarship for at-risk lgbtq youth has been established in Tate\'s name through LifeWorks Mentoring, the youth services division of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Please contact Jay Benoit at jbenoit@lagay center.org or 323-632-3053 if interested in making a tax-deductible contribution.