Dolly Wright Pate

   Ruth Elizabeth Wright “Dolly” Pate, 76, of Palm Bay, Florida, and formerly a longtime resident of Edenton, NC, passed away on Friday, July 6, 2018, in Palm Bay.

   Dolly was born in Chowan County on December 3, 1941, and was the daughter of the late Alfred Washington Wright, Sr. and Ruth Helen Twiddy Wright. As a child, she was raised in the fellowship of First Christian Church, located in the Historic Mill Village section of Edenton. Later, for many years, she and her former husband, Richard “Dick” Pate, owned and operated Pate’s Florist, also in Edenton. She left Edenton to live and work in Virginia Beach and retired there, and in 2015 moved to Florida due to illness and lived with her daughter.

   In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Kenny Wright; and by her former husband.

   Surviving are her daughter, Selina Pate Vinson and husband, Jim, of Palm Bay; three sons, Rick Pate and wife, Valerie, Tommy Pate, and Chris Pate, all of Wanchese; a sister, Joan W. Clark of Virginia Beach; a brother, Sonny Wright of Currituck; and four grandchildren, Melinda V. Rudisill, Melissa V. Brill, James Vinson, and Cora Beth Pate.

   Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 14th, at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home and Crematory, 735 Virginia Road, Edenton, and will be conducted by The Rev. Russell Bootwright. Burial will follow in Beaver Hill Cemetery. Friends may join the family in the funeral home for a time of visitation the hour prior to services.

   Flowers are welcome, or memorial contributions may be made to: Coastal Poodle Rescue, Inc., P.O. Box 121142, Melbourne, FL 32912, or online at www.coastalpoodlerescue.org. This organization was dear to Dolly’s heart because of Selina’s work there, and because of the love she felt for the poodles and mixes that her family adopted and fostered.

   Online condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.millerfhc.com.