Marvin Paul Tate

Marvin Paul Tate of College Station, Texas, went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on December 7, 2023. A celebration of his life will be held at Central Church, located at 1991 FM 158, College Station, Texas, on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 2:00 p.m.

Marvin was born in Wylie, Texas, on January 4, 1933, to Ozro and Stella Tate, where his family had just moved. Tate’s mother stated, “we received our first electricity in Wylie, with electric lights, iron, radio, and most of all my first washer.” When Tate started school as a young child in the early 1940’s, his older sister Iola was attending school at McMurray College, and his older brother Troy was in high school. Tate’s mother wrote in her memoirs that “money was hard to get, we were farming, selling eggs, milk, butter we churned, and vegetables we grew in a large garden,” on a share crop farm. Marvin grew up in a humble home, with hard working Christian parents who provided all they could for their children.

Tate moved in with his older brother Troy who lived in Abilene in 1948, to attend Abilene High School, as Troy knew his little brother needed to leave Wylie, Texas, to have the best chance to succeed in life. Marvin exceeded his brothers’ dreams, as he excelled in multiple sports. Tate was a two-year All-State football guard, and an All-State baseball catcher who led his team to the state finals. He was also a crooner in high school with a four man band. He had quite the singing voice, and he loved Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin!

Upon graduation in 1951, Tate was recruited by Texas A&M’s head football coach Raymond George, where he lettered as a starting guard for four years. During Tate’s senior year, he played for new Head Coach Bear Bryant on the legendary Junction Boys team, returning from the storied training camp in 1954 as one of the 35 survivors out of the 115 players that traveled to Junction, Texas. Tate maintained a strong bond with Coach Bryant and his Junction Boy teammates throughout his life, and he mourned the loss of these men as they passed away over the years. He always wondered who would be the “last man standing” of his teammates.

During his senior year at Texas A&M, Tate married a young lady from Baylor University, as A&M did not allow female students until 1963, and Baylor ladies would travel to College Station to attend dances with Aggies. Marvin and his wife welcomed their first son Marvin II in 1953, while Tate was still a student athlete. Upon graduation from Texas A&M University in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, he started his career as a sales representative for IBM, where he worked until 1966. He grew his family in Houston, becoming a father to four children. He joined Paine, Webber, Jackson, and Curtis in 1966, and then moved to College Station in 1967, when he was hired as Texas A&M University’s Associate Director of Athletics. During his career at Texas A&M, Tate was the project coordinator for the 1967 Kyle Field second deck expansion, and the 1979 expansion adding the third deck to the stadium. He also oversaw the Cain Hall Athletic dorm and Olsen Field construction projects. Tate was named Athletics Director in 1979 where he served until September of 1981, when he stepped away to pursue other business interests. Marvin chose to enter the local political arena in 1983 when he was elected as a Bryan City Councilman. In 1985, he became Mayor of Bryan, a position he held until 1995, becoming Bryan’s second longest serving mayor. He was also the City of Bryan’s only named Mayor Emeritus.

Marvin’s professional life kept him busy from the moment he moved back to Aggieland, but he managed to watch and guide his family through life’s challenges. Adding a fifth child into the family, Tate’s now five children attended and graduated from Bryan High School over the years, and having grown up in an Aggie household, they all attended Texas A&M. His Aggie legacy ultimately led to twenty Texas A&M graduates from the extended Tate family through 2021. Most importantly, Marvin was extremely proud of his grandchildren (15), great-grandchildren (22), and great-great-grandchildren (2). His values and traditions were legacies passed down through the generations of his family, and there will certainly be many additional Aggie graduates among these generations.

Marvin was preceded in death by his parents, Ozro and Stella Tate, his sister Iola Harris and brother Troy Tate, his infant daughter Baby Girl Tate, his first wife Kay McCulloch, and second wife Cindy Tate. He is survived by his son Marvin Tate II of Vernon, TX, and children Angie Thompson, Trent, Tia, and Dakota Tate; son and daughter-in-law Gary and Sherrie Tate of Sugarland, TX, and children Jennifer Venghaus and Lauren Cothran; daughter and son-in-law Jana and John Bernal of San Antonio, TX, and children Joshua Haack, Liana Kha, and Kyle Gillaspie; son and daughter-in-law Tracy and Lea Ann Tate of College Station, TX, and children Megan Upchurch, Travis Tate, Tyler Gideon and Kyle Gideon; and daughter and son-in-law Kristin and Nathan Reagan of Clear Lake, TX, and children Caroline and Wilson Reagan. He is also survived by twenty-two great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren! His extended family is his greatest legacy.

Donations made be made in Marvin’s honor to The Association of Former Students.