Daniel Bruce Pate

Dan passed away at the age of 87 on Thursday, February 20, 2025, in Houston, Texas, after a brief hospitalization due to a fall resulting in head trauma.
Dan is survived by his wife of 35 years, Patricia (Patty).
Dan is also survived by his children – son, Ronnie and wife Amy, step-daughter, Kimberly Talbert, daughter, Tracy Scott and husband Charles, step-daughter Kellie Van Horn, and daughters-in-law Stacey Pate and Lisa Brockmann.
Grandchildren include: Cayla, Matthew, and Sarah Pate, Andrew and Jason Talbert, Matthew and Clifford Riddle, Amber Riddle, Joshua Pate and wife Michelle, Clayton Pate, Patrick Pate and wife Erica, and Sherrodie Hanson and husband Tony. Dan had 10 great grandchildren and 7 great-great grandchildren, sister-in-law Maxine Pate, brother-in-law Wayne Ballentine and wife Diane, brother-in-law Donnie Ballentine, sister-in-law Mary Wood, numerous nephews and nieces, and many friends.
Dan is preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Sherrodie Marie (Laningham), son Richard Patrick Pate, son-in-law Philip Talbert, and 3 brothers: Robert Eugene Pate, William David Pate, and Donald Lonzo Pate.
After graduating high school, Dan briefly attended Oklahoma A&M before joining the United States Air Force honorably serving from 1957 to 1965. After his discharge, he moved to the Houston area and began working for Texas Instruments. It was here that he met and married his first wife, Marie and adopted her two sons, and subsequently adding Tracy in 1967. The family moved to Pearland in 1969.
Dan joined NASA with his employment through Lockheed Electronics Company. Some of his achievements were working on the Cosmic Radiation Ionization Spectrograph program and a Warning Panel in the Payload section for the shuttle avionics integration lab supporting manned space flight.
He briefly changed fields working for the oil/gas company Welex / Halliburton from 1980-1986 helping to design and develop power supplies used in the oil field.
He rejoined NASA through his employment with Boeing Aerospace and Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company developing and testing flight and non-flight instrument systems including Orbital Debris Radar Calibration, Sonic Boom Detection, and the Liquid Mercury Mirror Telescope.
Always wanting to learn more, he earned 2 Associate of Applied Science degrees from College of the Mainland and an Associate of Arts degree from San Jacinto College South, where he even attended one college business writing class with Tracy!
Dan was a great family man and loving father. He actively participated with all of the kids' activities, including Tracy's softball and in being immersed in the world of Boys Scouts of America. He was Cubmaster for Pack 404, built cars for and chaired many PineWood Derby races, and obtained both the Order of the Arrow and the Silver Beaver Awards through the Bay Area Council. Dan enjoyed camping and traveling with his family – even planning and executing a camping trip all the way up the U.S. east coast into Canada and then back down through the middle of the country visiting many historic places
and visiting distant relatives. Dan was like MacGyver. As a young parent, he was always tinkering with the cars, he built a 2-story garage and study room in the back yard, and enjoyed just fixing things.
After Marie's passing, he met Patty on a blind date set up by mutual friends. They were married on July 1, 1989; and he moved to her house in Houston. Dan took her on many camping trips and even invited many of the grandkids for "Cousin's Camps" in Galveston. They took trips to Ohio, Florida, Oklahoma, and many other places. Dan retired in 2002, staying home with Patty and their dogs and cats watching favorite tv shows and going to the movies. They even managed to take trips to Greece and Scotland, enjoying their retirement years together.
Dan was a social, active man who was deeply involved in his church, sharing his faith and love of Jesus with everyone he knew. He enjoyed reading different versions of the bible to understand what the scriptures meant. He read the bible several times through; and enjoyed attending both the Pearland church of Christ and Memorial church of Christ (after his marriage to Patty). He faithfully attended Sunday school, Sunday morning and evening, and Wednesday night services. He could always be counted on to lead a prayer whenever he was asked. For a while, Dan and Patty even volunteered with the weekly Bread Ministry for the church. One of his greatest joys in life was being asked to baptize his "grandson" Matthew in 2017.
Dan obtained his pilot's license using it to visit friends and family with Patty. Dan even began building his own Polliwagen airplane in his garage. He never completed the build, but sure "looked good flying it in his garage"! He donated it to the airplane museum at Houston Hobby airport.
His other passion in life was in everything to do with John Wayne. He was an avid fan collecting every movie he made, any book about him, and many other collectible items – posters, figures, etc.
Dan's services will be held at the South Park Funeral Home on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with visitation at 9:30 a.m. and internment at the South Park Cemetery at 12:00 noon. The funeral home is located at 1310 N Main Street in Pearland, Texas.
The Pearland church of Christ will host Dan's family and friends for refreshments at the annex located at 2217 N Grand Blvd in Pearland following the internment.