Ruth Leon Tate: February 20, 1929 – October 31, 2023 “She leaves a legacy of love.”

Ruth Leon Tate passed away in her home on October 31, 2023, at the age of 94, after a battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her family and leaves a legacy of love.

Ruth was born February 20, 1929 to George and Sarah Berger in Caney, Kansas. She was the youngest of eight children. Ruth was a survivor and fighter right from the start. She was born premature at home and was so small her doctor told her parents to love her while they could because she would never live, to which her papa replied “She’ll live”. And live, she did. At the age of 2 or 3, she traveled by covered wagon as a baby from Kansas to Perry, OK and then, in 1933, during the Dust Bowl, her family traveled to California in search of work, finding nothing sustainable, they returned to Perry just before Ruth turned 5.

Ruth married the love of her life, Donald Dean Tate, in May of 1948 in Perry, Oklahoma. Together they moved to Odessa, Texas, then to the Reno, Nevada area and finally to Yerington, Nevada in 1966 where they lived together until his death in 1986. Ruth lived in Nampa, Idaho from 2012 to 2022, then, on her 93rd birthday, she moved back to Yerington, which was where she considered home.

Ruth loved her family with all her heart, she was never happier than when she was surrounded by her 4 children and grandchildren, the fuller her house, the happier her heart was. She loved nature and the outdoors and spent a lot of time camping, hunting, fishing, rockhounding and long rides down country roads with Donald and her kids. She loved animals, enjoyed a beautiful sunset, loved watching the snow fall and was mesmerized by the beauty of fall. She taught her children to enjoy the beauty of this world and to never take each other for granted. Her faith was an inspiration and her children have always known they had a mom who prayed for them and their families.

Ruth is preceded in death by her newborn son, Johny Tate, her husband, Donald Tate, her parents, George & Sarah Berger, daughter-in law, Erlinda Tate, son-in-law, Gary “Mike” Watts, grandson, Anthony Tate, her siblings, siblings-in-law, and several nieces and nephews.

She is survived by her son Donald Mike Tate of Yerington, NV, Terry (Lloyd) Chandler of Nampa, ID, Bill (Pam) Tate of Yerington, NV and Stacey (George) Weimer of Helena, MT, and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral Services for Ruth will be Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 2PM at Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home, 25 Hwy 208  Yerington, Nevada with burial to follow at Valley View Cemetery.

Family and friends are invited to sign her on line guest book at www.FRFH.net

Arrangements under the direction of Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home, 25 Hwy 208 Yerington, Nevada 89447 (775) 463-2911