Sabra Smith Tate, 87 of McAlester, died Friday, April 8, 2022 at a local nursing center. Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at First Presbyterian Church of McAlester, with the Rev. D. Scott Vandenheuvel officiating. Burial will be at Oak Hill Cemetery under the direction of Bishop Funeral Service. Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of McAlester. Honorary pallbearers will be Tom Crowl, Jeannie Lee Dancer, George Lampton, Dr. Kenneth Miller, Jim Thompson and the directors and officers of the Doss Oil Royalty Co. Born July 22, 1934 in McAlester, Sabra was the daughter of Vaughn Hubert and Bobbie Louise (Nelson) Smith. She graduated from McAlester High School in 1952, and from the University of Tulsa in 1956, with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. She married Eugene M. Tate of Tulsa on September 25, 1958 in McAlester, and they had one son, Wade. Following their marriage, they lived for a few years in Glenville, West Virginia, where Gene was employed by the Dowell division of Dow Chemical Company, before returning to McAlester in 1961. As a journalist, Sabra worked for both the Tulsa World and the McAlester News-Capital, where she served as Society editor until 1974 and wrote the popular "About Town" column; and made further contributions to the newspaper, including the "About Trees" column, in later years. She also was employed for a time at Pioneer Abstract Company, working with her husband and for her father, the company manager. She was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of McAlester, which she served in numerous capacities including as a ruling elder, Sunday School teacher, youth leader, interim Director of Christian Education, and member of committees including pastoral search committees and the historical committee. Her love of the community and local history was expressed through her work in the church and in many civic activities. She organized the Community Tree Board of the City of McAlester in 1986 and served as its chairman until 2015. She was a leader in the effort to rehabilitate the Aldridge Hotel to serve as apartments for the elderly and handicapped. She served as President of the Ardeneum of Oklahoma Charitable and Educational Foundation, and on the board of the McAlester Building Foundation. Other civic activities included service as President of the Parent-Teacher Associations at Washington Elementary and Puterbaugh Middle schools in the 1970's; on the board of the McAlester Community Concerts Association and the McAlester Arts and Humanities Council; as a volunteer at Carl Albert Community Mental Health Center; and on other boards and committees of the City of McAlester. She also served as a director of the Doss Oil Royalty Company from 2000 to until the time of her death. Her most constant and selfless commitment was to her family, whose members she cared for when they were sick, and to whom she expressed her love and devotion in countless ways. In her youth she had been a member of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls at a time when her grandmother, Laura J. Nelson, served as the organization's Supreme Worthy Advisor. She later was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She is survived by her son, Wade, of McAlester, two sisters-in-law, Jean Cantu and husband, Raul of Claremore, and Janice Edge of Tulsa; and numerous nieces and nephews, including Vanessa Smith of Des Peres, Missouri. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, on September 10, 2000; her brother, Robert Houston Smith; her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. George H. Smith and Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Nelson; and her mother- and father-in-law, Charles E. and Eva (Fears) Tate.