Geraldine “Jerri” Tate

Geraldine “Jerri” Tate, beloved mother and Nanny to all, went to be with the Lord Saturday, September 24th, 2022, at age 74 and is now rejoicing with the angels.

Nanny was born in East Bernstadt, KY but has called Church Hill, TN home for most of her life.
We take comfort knowing she is pain-free, no longer out of breath, no longer hurting, no longer chained to her oxygen machine. We’re comforted knowing what a party it must have been when she entered heavens gates to be greeted by our other loved ones who have passed on, especially her baby brother Wayne and we’re sure a slew of cats she loved over the years.

She held many hats – She was the matriarch of the family, the glue holding us all together. We’re really not sure how to continue without her, honestly. She was a mother of 4 & loved all of her children fiercely. She was a proud grandmother & great-grandmother of many because she had many “grandkids” she claimed as her own. She was everyone’s “Nanny”. She leaves behind sons, Bobby (Tracy) & Rodney (Angela) and daughters Regina and special son-in-law Carl, and daughter Summer (Chris). Her greatest joy in life was being a Nanny to her many grandchildren & great grandchildren; Emiley (Aaron), Tanner, Ashlea (Josh), Presley, Amber, Keagan, Deegan, Lily, Paxton, Iver, Abby, Adarius, Allie, Braylen, and Zander; brothers, Teddy Jo Helton and Billy Gene Helton; and one sister, Irene Taylor.

She was preceded in death by late husband Robert Tate, parents Minerva & Mack Helton, sister Connie Davis, brothers Wayne and Marshall Helton and nephew Brad Davis.

To know Nanny was to love her. She never met a baby she couldn’t lull to sleep, a child that didn’t instantly fall in love with her, a person she couldn’t win over or an animal that didn’t like her. She was such a special lady. She didn’t live an easy life and was in pain a lot of it, having a triple by-pass at 40, but she was one person you’d never hear complain. She lived her life the way she wanted to. She loved life, the beach, the color pink, all of her kitties, butterfinger candy bars, all things girly and sparkly, and most importantly her family. There wasn’t a birthday party, grandparents’ lunch at school, graduation or family get together she didn’t attend. We are blessed to be hers. She lived by the philosophy of “love everyone & let God sort them out later”. She was truly one of a kind.
We miss her so much already. Our hearts are broken, but there is peace in knowing she’s happy, healthy, and whole again in her heavenly home and she knew exactly how much she was loved here on earth.

A visitation will be held from 11:00 – 1:00 PM on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at Johnson-Arrowood Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM in the funeral home chapel. The burial will follow to McPheeters Bend Cemetery. Pallbearers will be family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks to instead make a donation in her honor to the Hawkins County Humane Society at 5180 US-11W, Rogersville, TN 37857.

Johnson-Arrowood Funeral Home of Church Hill is honored to serve the Tate family.