Gennilla A. Pates

Gennilla A. Pates

Gennilla Atkins Pates, 95, of Fredericksburg passed away peacefully at Woodmont Center Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003.

The daughter of the late Rev. Hampton Stuart Atkins of Sperryville and Annie Morgan Atkins of Culpeper County, she was born May 29, 1908, in Valdez, Alaska, while her parents were serving as Baptist missionaries and teachers to the Ahtna Indian tribe in Copper Center, Alaska. Her unusual Christian name came from the phrase "snow and ice" in the native Ahtna language.

After spending her youth in Colorado and Virginia, Gennilla attended Averett College in Danville before earning a bachelor of music degree from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in 1927, and a bachelor of science degree from Mary Washington College in 1946.

Gennilla enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the arts. She was an accomplished pianist, violinist, actress, artist and, above all, teacher. She began her career teaching speech in the public schools of Cullman, Ala., then accepted a piano instructor position at Oneida College in Kentucky. She later taught piano and drama at Pineland College in Salemburg, N.C., before coming to the Fredericksburg area, where she worked at the Marine Corps Base at Quantico during World War II. After the war, she married and began a family and established a private piano class in her home, where she continued teaching for the next 36 years. Her students participated yearly in the National Guild of Piano Teacher auditions and she served as the local chairperson of the guild for 11 years. She was elected to the guild's Piano Teachers Hall of Fame in 1972. Her piano students also participated annually in the music festival sponsored by the National Federation of Music Teachers.

In addition to her music, Gennilla was a talented actress, working on various local productions with the Fredericksburg Little Theater, and a gifted visual artist whose paintings reflected a dramatic sense of color and unique perspective. She was a true artist in that she had a deep appreciation for all things beautiful and believed that a love of art could be fostered and developed in everyone, especially children.

As with all great teachers, her real credentials were her students. Many of her students continued with their music through college and later life. She inspired her students by being both friend and mentor. She was genuinely interested in their lives and willing to take the time to listen to them. She cared deeply for each one.

In addition to her teaching career and artistic pursuits, Gennilla was actively involved in her community, serving the Fredericksburg Baptist Church and various civil organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She served as president of the Mary Washington College Alumnae, Fredericksburg Chapter, and donated hundreds of hours over 30 years to the Mary Washington Hospital Auxiliary, the American Red Cross, Hot Line, and various literacy programs. She enjoyed many hobbies, including genealogy and playing bridge with her friends.

Above all, she was a loving daughter, wife, mother and grandmother. For 25 years, she served as the loving caregiver of her crippled mother, Annie Atkins. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, James Scott Pates of Fredericksburg; two children, Jacqueline Pates Henninger of Midland, Mich., and James Morgan Pates of Fredericksburg; and three grandchildren, Matthew Henninger, Dana Henninger and Anne Morgan Pates.

The family will receive friends at the home of Jim and Susan Pates, 1109 Charles St., Fredericksburg, on Friday, Nov. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. A funeral and burial will be held Saturday, Nov. 15, at 2 p.m. at Old Salem Baptist Church, State Route 3, Spotsylvania County (parking available at the new Salem Baptist Church next door). Funeral arrangements are being handled by Mullins & Thompson Funeral Service, Fredericksburg Chapel.