Frances Willard Pate

Dr. Frances Willard Pate passed away at her home in Greenville, SC on December 2, 2025 at the age of 87. Dr. Pate was born in Hawkinsville, GA on September 19, 1938. She graduated with a B.A. from Emory University in 1959, a M.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1961 and a Ph.D. from Emory University in 1969. Dr. Pate was a professor of English at Furman University for over sixty years and was still teaching her favorite subject, Southern Literature, at the time of her death. She was a specialist on the works of William Faulkner, but also taught classes on Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty and Alice Walker, among others. One of Dr. Pate’s most significant contributions to Furman was her role in founding its semester abroad program in the British Isles in the 1960’s. This program remains an essential part of the educational experience of English and Theater students at Furman to this day.

Dr. Pate was also an accomplished photographer, and her photographs have been exhibited and collected for over 30 years both in the United States and abroad. She shot almost always in black and white, and her subjects were the landscapes, people and animals she met on her extensive travels. She published her first book of photography "With Animals" in 2015 and was working on her second book on the history of the Aran Isles at the time of her death.

Dr. Pate loved travel and the outdoors. For decades she spent a semester each year in the British Isles with Furman students and enjoyed walks in the Cotswolds and the Bronte country. She traveled extensively for her photography in Cuba, Sicily, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and the Aran Islands. Dr. Pate also treasured spending time at her vacation home in North Carolina, where she enjoyed hiking, gardening and cooking.

Dr. Pate was preceded in death by her parents, James and Willard Pate. Although she never married or had children, Dr. Pate was fiercely devoted to her students and had lifelong friends whom she thought of as family. She is survived by her adored cats, Flannery and Faulkner. Plans for a celebration of her life will be announced at a later date. Donations in Dr. Pate’s memory can be made to the Willard Pate Endowed Scholarship at Furman University, the Best Friends Animal Society in Salt Lake City, the Cashiers Highlands Humane Society, the Greenville Humane Society or any animal loving charity of your choice.