Obituary of William D. Tate

Tate, William "Bill" D., 73 of Ventnor, NJ passed away unexpectedly at his home on Thursday, December 5, 2019. Born and raised in Atlantic City, Bill spent most of his life in Ventnor, NJ, close to the beach and the boardwalk he loved. He was a graduate of Atlantic City High School, class of 1963. Bill earned his bachelor's degree in accounting and masters of business degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University. Following graduation, he became employed at Price Waterhouse, which was followed by a substantial career traveling throughout the country for Playboy. Bill's love for his roots led him back to New Jersey and he became employed by Atlantic County Government. At Atlantic County, he was the Comptroller for a period of time, then County Treasurer and CFO. He was responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars, the budget, the county tax rate and capital improvement program. Respected as being frugal and reasonable, Bill successfully managed taxpayer dollars, and was a master at building the fund balance and balancing the budget.

He started every morning with a strong cup of coffee, reading the NY Times, and in good weather, an enjoyable bike ride from the Ventnor to the Atlantic City boardwalk and back to Ventnor.

His favorite things in life, besides just keeping life simple, was the beach, beautiful sunsets, daily NY Times crossword puzzle, books, albums, collection of art and pottery, old movies, sci fi movies, and daily news and stock reports. In addition, numbers were his "thing", and he could solve many financial challenges with a quick look, perform an instant analysis and solve many problems. He also enjoyed a good debate and trivia. He would be your plus one if ever on Who wants to be a millionaire. Bill was incredibly intelligent and understood everything. An avid reader, he always had a book in his hand. He was selective in what he read. He was a collector of books, vinyl and art work. Bill loved rock and roll and enjoyed visits to New York City.

Bill was the loving husband of Maria Mento, his wife of 30 years. He would do anything for her, and carried (with an eye roll) many a pots of meatballs, pasta, and desserts into the car to go to family parties. In addition to Maria, he is survived by his nephews Jason Mento and wife Donna, James Mento and wife Cathy, Jonathan Mento and fiancée Robyn, and Adam Tate and wife Jackie. He is also survived by his great nieces Heather, Brittany, Maya, Annika and nephew Jackson. He loved all of them dearly and enjoyed the many family events, being ok to leave the island, if it involved the nephews and nieces. He took his nephew and greats to the beach, spent endless hours pulling them on boogie boards, taught them how to body surf and took them a little too far out in the ocean for his wife's comfort. This is where Jon's love for the ocean started and grew. He enjoyed spending time with them, talking, listening and being a mentor. He taught Heather how to play chess and took the kayak and paddle boards out whenever Brittany wanted. He taught Jason about the 70s and 80s off beat cult classic movies and introduced him to the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Steely Dan and especially Procol Harum. He was "Uncle Bill" to many kids, including the children of friends and neighbors. He was a fur daddy to five cats over the last 30 years, going from "don't feed that cat it won't go away," to "don't let the cat outside, it will get lost". This was his first cat. He spoiled each one of them. He also happily became Jon's dog sitter.

He is also survived by his brother- in- law Vincent B Mento, and brother Louis Tate and his wife Millie. He is predeceased by his parents Sofie and Louis, and his wife's parents Vince and Mary. He always enjoyed having Sunday dinners and many conversations with his in-laws.

His funeral service will be held Wednesday, December 11, 2019, 8:00 pm at Carnesale Funeral Home, 202 S Third Street, Hammonton, NJ, where a viewing will be held from 5:00 pm - 8:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cape Atlantic Cats of Ocean City, 959 Asbury Avenue, Ocean City NJ 08226 or Atlantic County Animal Shelter at 240 Old Turnpike, Pleasantville, NJ 08232. Here's hoping you are body surfing somewhere warm Bill!