Mary Ellen Pate

Mary Ellen (Tumpy) Pate passed away peacefully just before midnight on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, following her beloved husband of 68 years, Freelon, who died on January 29. Her loving boys, Bill (son), Graham and Benjamin (grandsons), were with her during her final hours, and Ben was by her side during her final moments.

Mary Ellen was born in Rochester PA on February 8, 1933, to the late William J. and Madeleine Hoeltz Schwartz. She was also preceded in death by her older sister, Beatrice, who bestowed upon her the lifelong nickname, Tumpy, as a result of her thumping, running footsteps on an upstairs balcony. She maintained both the nickname as well as her manner of walking throughout her life.

Tumpy was a 1951 graduate of Rochester High School. She attended Slippery Rock Teachers’ College for one year before returning to Rochester to marry Freelon in February, 1954. They had one son, William A., who was born in September, 1957. Tumpy devoted herself to homemaking until the early 1970s when she went to work for Kaufmann’s Department Store, which had recently opened a location in Rochester. She spent most of her career working in Misses’ Better Sportswear and always called her payday “exchange day,” having already spent her paychecks (and more) on clothing for herself, her husband, and her son. She enjoyed her years in retail up until Kaufmann’s moved to the Beaver Valley Mall, at which time she became a full-time grandma while faithfully showing up at the crack of dawn every morning to prepare fresh dough for her son’s pizzeria, Mama Mimi’s, in Beaver.

In addition to caring for her family, Tumpy was also an avid golfer, a pastime which she enjoyed even more after she and Freelon moved to Fernandina Beach, FL, upon his retirement from the Pittsburgh Tube Company. They loved their Florida home for over two decades, returning to Pennsylvania last summer due to their declining health and taking residence at Sewickley’s Masonic Village.

Tumpy is survived by her devoted son Bill and his wife Maggie of Beaver Falls (Tumpy regarded Maggie as her own beloved daughter) as well as their sons and partners, Graham (Mindy Calvin) of Ohioville, and Benjamin (Yong Lee) of Washington, D.C. Her grandsons also gave her great-grandchildren Bradlee, Graham, Daniel and Addy, as well as honorary greats, Isaak, Carter, Helen and James. Tumpy also celebrated her honorary granddaughters, Ashley and Nicole.

The family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude to the angels-on-earth who work on the third floor at Sewickley Masonic Village’s Sturgeon Healthcare Center, many of whom became surrogate family members during Tumpy and Freelon’s final days.

A visitation will be held at SAUL-GABAUER FUNERAL HOME, INC., 273 Route 68, Rochester (adjacent to the Sylvania Hills Memorial Park Mausoleum) from noon until two p.m. on Saturday, April 9. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the children’s collection at the New Brighton Public Library, where Tumpy volunteered for over twenty years.