James Littleton Pate was born November 23, 1932, and passed away August 11, 2011 of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. He was the son of Herbert J. and Mary Gardner Pate, who preceded him in death. Jim Pate was a native of Madill, OK, who grew up in the newspaper business. He was a product of the Madill Public School system and graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1954. He and Mary Elizabeth (Maribeth) Ford were married on June 10, 1954, in the First Presbyterian Church, Norman, OK. Jim served as president of the Oklahoma Press Association in 1975, exactly 25 years after his father served as president of the association. In 1985, Jim became the third Oklahoman to serve the National Newspaper Association as its president. In 1987 he was again honored by the Oklahoma Press Association when he was awarded the H. Milt Phillips award for service to the newspaper community. Jim and his father were inducted into the Oklahoma Newspaper Hall of Fame just months before his father died. Jim represents the third generation involved in Oklahoma newspaper publishing. The Pate family has been active in the newspaper industry since the early 1900's, first in Tennessee and then when the family moved to Oklahoma. He and his father were involved in the ownership of several "country weeklies" in Southern and Western Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. In addition, other family members have been and continue to be active in newspaper businesses throughout the nation. Pate worked for his father at The Madill Record from childhood until his high school graduation. After graduation from OU he returned to the newspaper until he started his Army service. He served with the U.S. Army in the public information sections at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Upon completion of his military obligations, Jim again returned to the family newspaper in 1956. He and his father established radio station KMAD in 1962 and operated it until the station was sold in 1970. He has been active in numerous community affairs through his membership with the Madill Rotary Club, Marshall County Chamber of Commerce and Lake Texoma Association. He was one of the community leaders active in efforts to establish Marshall Memorial Hospital in 1965. He also helped organize and promote the National Sand Bass Festival in Madill that became recognized as one of the state's top summer festivals. His community service has also included serving with the Oklahoma Health Science Center board of trustees, the Fort Washita Commission board and ten years as member and chairman of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission. His wife, Maribeth, contributed greatly to the family's experiences as his wife and the mother of their four children. In addition, she wrote her popular weekly column "Maribeth's Meanderings . . . " of The Madill Record. Jim retired from the day-to-day responsibility of newspapers in 1989, leaving management of The Madill Record and The Texoman to his son, Herb. After Herb died in a tragic plane crash in early 1990, Jim resumed an active role with the newspapers. Congressman Bill Brewster, who lost two children in the same plane accident, named Jim his press secretary in December 1990. Maribeth and Jim Pate are the parents of four children: Marti Pate Gallardo, of Chappaqua, NY; Lauri Pate Kimball, Dallas; Bill Pate of Chicago, Illinois; and Herb Pate, deceased. Children-in-law are Kathe Pate, Nancy Beasley Pate, Armando Gallardo, and Tom Kimball. Their nine grandchildren are Keely Pate Pryor, Jenni Pate Higgs, Bryant Pate, and Avery Sullivan, all of Ardmore, OK; Emily and Catie Rose Pate of Chicago, IL; and Jessica Gallardo, of New York, NY and James and Katye Gallardo, of Chappaqua, NY. He also has four great-grandchildren.