RIP to MorningSide Great - O'Dell Tate: 1960-2021
Our community suffered the loss one of its biggest advocates in the untimely passing of former MorningSide Community Organization (MCO) President, O'Dell Tate last month.
O'Dell was an individual who truly believed in serving his community to the fullest. He served as the Department of Neighborhoods District Manager for the City of Detroit (2014-2018), and he proudly served as the president of our organization from 2010-2015.
In his role as MCO President, he played a pivotal role in securing over a million dollars to help remove blighted properties and repurpose vacant land for green space throughout the continuous communities of Cornerstone, East English Village, and MorningSide. Below are tributes from several MorningSide residents:
O’Dell was our neighbor and my high school friend. I am a cook like O’Dell was, so I would take my tasty dishes and my famous pound cake down the street for O’Dell and his family to enjoy. We had many laughs, and share many happy memories. O’Dell welcomed me and my wife to the neighborhood ,and was instrumental in telling us about the home before we even moved in. He loved his family, and the community. We will miss him blowing his horn when he pulled out of the driveway when we were outdoors. We have all lost a true man of integrity, and a great humanitarian. Rest in peace our friend and neighbor, job well done.
—Fred and Darlene Lucas
Greetings, My deepest sympathy for the passing of Mr. Tate. May God Bless his family and friends who mourn his loss.
—Gayle Wooten
When I started getting involved in Morningside, O'Dell was there to lend his ear and give advice. He would call regularly with suggestions on how to do X-Y-Z, but he never pushed his perspective too hard. The ultimate diplomat, O'Dell seemed to want to unite people over anything else. He was an old-school kind of guy with a formality that brought expectations to the table but also made you feel right at ease. And he had great taste in cars — I loved seeing his black Lincoln Continental in the driveway.
—Nicolas Hall
To the Tate Family, my heart is broken for you. You have my deepest sympathy. I will pray feverishly for your strength and well-being during this time.
—Donyelle Pressley
During his years as our President, O’Dell showed great skill at getting City departments to deliver services to the neighborhood. His talents shone even brighter when he became our Department of Neighborhoods Manager for District 4. He never lost faith in the abilities of community and government to work together for neighborhood improvement. One great memory is the day that O’Dell brought Mayor Mike Duggan to the Spirit of Love church on Mack, where he met with a small group of MorningSiders in what turned out to be his first mayoral campaign appearance in 2013. O’Dell was especially adept at building bridges with religious leaders. His deep faith and respect for everyone almost always resulted in positive outcomes for our community. Let us all be inspired by the life and accomplishments of O’Dell and continue to challenge and collaborate with our government officials to seek a brighter future for MorningSide.
—Eric Dueweke
As a community, our prayers are with O'Dell's beloved wife Monique, his children, Angell, Marika, and Everett, and his extended family. O'Dell will forever be cherished for his contributions to MorningSide. Thank you for being our community champion. Rest In Peace!
