Virginia Sue Tate

Virginia Sue (Ginnie) Tate, 69, also known as The Goat Lady, died at home on Friday, July 17, 2009. She lived with her family at Goat Lady Dairy in the Gray's Chapel neighborhood of Randolph County. Ginnie suffered for the last 2 years from ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). A 2 p.m. memorial service will be held Sunday, July 26, at Goat Lady Dairy. Ginnie was born on the farm in rural southern Illinois to Norma and Freddie Tate on November 22, 1939. She graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1961 as a Registered Nurse and the University of Boston in 1970 with a MSN degree in Nursing Administration. She worked for 15 years at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She came to North Carolina in 1977 to pursue post-graduate studies at NC State in Raleigh. She worked at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville from 1978 to 1984 and at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro from 1984 until her retirement in 2002. In 1984 Ginnie purchased an abandoned tobacco farm in Randolph County and moved in with Nubie, her Nubian dairy goat. The neighbor's soon nicknamed her "the Goat Lady" and she set about restoring the farm to productivity. In those early years she restored the 200 year old log farm house and several out buildings, planted gardens, started milking goats and made cheese. She also hosted several herb festivals and other farm gatherings to share her love of the land with others. In 1995 her brother Steve and sister-in-law Lee joined her to start Goat Lady Dairy, a licensed artisan cheesemaking farm now making 35,000 lbs of handmade goat and cow milk cheeses annually and hosting 30 meal events each year at the dairy. Ginnie was a member of New Creation Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. In earlier years she was an active leader in various nurse associations and the NC Herb Grower's Assocation. In May, 2009 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Carolina Land Trusts. Ms. Tate was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. Freddie Tate and Mrs. Norma Tate. She is survived by her brother Steve Tate, sister-in-law Lee Terry Tate and nephews Nathan Tate and Gareth Tate. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Piedmont Land Conservancy, P.O. Box 4025 Greensboro, NC 27404-4025 or the New Creation Community Presbyterian Church (outreach fund), 617 N Elm St. Greensboro, NC 27401-2019. Offer online condolences to info@goatladydairy.com