MRS. DIANE REGINA LAKE-TATE

Dear Diane:

Thank you for being such an inspiration, supporter, and role model. You taught me the beauty of familial love. You always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. Most importantly, you lived a godly life as a daughter, wife, and parent. You especially shared with others the pride you had for your children. For example, you could not stop bragging on your baby, Kyle (Now Chaplain Kyle Lake), an aspiring artist attending the Art Institute of Chicago. You lived your life with love and did so in the manner of those who came before us. In fact, your love for humanity reminds me so much of my dear aunt and your grandmother, Aunt Mary. Aunt Mary and Uncle Ben loved their children, grandchildren, cousins, nieces, and nephews. They exuded love and familial devotion for everyone. Their ability to uproot the Jim Crow South and begin life anew in Detroit in the early twentieth century, like others who took part in the Great Migration, confirms their intent to give their descendants more. They passed down the art of godly love and self-sacrifice to their children, cousins Cremonia and George and, from there, passed on this gift to you. It is this love and commitment to community that will sustain your amazing children and their children. Family and faith especially inspired you to love others, rare traits in the world today. Like the ancestors who lived through the Middle Passage; those who lived and died as slaves; an emancipated Great-granddad Richard Pruitt, along with Great-grandmother Mollie, Aunt Mary's parents; those that lived through the debasement of Jim Crow segregation; and our parents, the first beneficiaries of the Great Migration to Detroit, you lived your life putting others first, always seeing the bigger picture of shared hope and love. Now an ancestor in your own right, please know that your legacy will forever live on in all of us, especially your children and siblings.

Sincere love,

Bernadette Pruitt (Clarence Pruitt's Daughter and Clinton Pruitt's (Brother of Mary Payne) Granddaughter)

I know momma lake was a true believer in Christ and as believers we know that once we're absent from the body (shell) we're present with the Lord. Hallelujah! In die time we'll all see our love ones in paradise. May the holy spirit comfort you and your family during the loss of momma lake and her brother. Joyce and Sultan Benson and Anna and Desmin Johnson