Texas-born Doris Tate became a leader in the Crime Victims Rights Movement after the brutal murder of her eldest daughter, Sharon Tate, in 1969. Born Doris Gwendolyn Willett in Houston, Texas, she reshaped the victims' rights movement in California, tirelessly campaigning to radically change laws to allow the victims of violent crimes a more active role in the trials and sentencing of their perpetrators as well as allowing the families of murder victims a greater voice in the passing of crime-related laws. She was the mother of actress Sharon Tate, a victim of the 1969 "Manson Family" murder spree, which made international headlines for months and is generally regarded as one of the most senseless and heinous crimes of the 20th century. In a 1982 interview, Doris stated she was unable to even talk about her daughter's death "…for about three years…," but it would not be until another decade later when murderer Leslie Van Houten (who was not present at the Tate-Polanski home on August 9th, 1969, but helped to murder Rosemary La Bianca on August 10th) gathered approximately 900 signatures on a petition for parole. Doris countered with a petition drive that eventually garnered over 350,000 signatures. It was the realization that so many people were against parole for any of the so-called "Manson Family" that prompted Doris to come out of her deep depression, to talk more openly about her daughter's savage murder in public, and to find a way of honoring her daughter's memory by giving victims of violent crime and their families a stronger voice in the trials and sentencing of their perpetrators. These would come to be known as "victim impact statements," which was part of the 1982 California Proposition Number 8 "Victims Rights Bill," and Doris would be the first person in California to appear at the parole hearing of one of her daughter's murderers after the bill became law. That law would eventually be implemented nationwide. Doris became more involved in the victims' rights movement. She joined the L.A. chapter of Parents of Murdered Children (P.O.M.C.) and she was active in the groups Victim Offender Reconciliation, Justice for Homicide Victims and Citizens for Truth, among many others. She founded the organization Coalition on Victims' Equal Rights (COVER) and also served on the California State Advisory Committee on Correctional Services and stated that she would like to see all victims' rights groups unite. As determined as she was that her daughter's murderers should have been executed, and that they should never be paroled (the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty in 1972 in California v. Anderson. It was reinstituted in November of that year, but the new law could not be applied retroactively to murders committed before 1972), she also worked with offenders she felt could be rehabilitated. She told them the impact violent crime had on her and her family in the hopes she could deter them from committing more violent crimes once they were released. For her tireless work, she was named as one of President George H.W. Bush's "Thousand Points of Light" in 1992 along with receiving many awards from various victims rights organizations in the 1980s. The ceremony marking her as one of the "thousand points of light" would be her last public appearance as she died a few months later of a brain tumor she was diagnosed with in January 1992, according to her obituary in the Los Angeles Times. Former Deputy D.A. Stephen Kay stated in her Times obituary that Doris, "…really was the leader of the victims' rights movement." On May 12th, 1992, the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau was named in her honor. In 1995, the non-profit Doris Tate Crime Victims Foundation was established. It "…educates, supports and advocates for the rights of victims of violent crime," according to their website. Doris's main aim was to redefine her daughter's public legacy as more than a mere murder victim. She stated, "The most that I, or any person touched by violence, can hope for is acceptance of the pain. You never forget it, not even with the passage of time. But, if, in my work, I can help transform Sharon's legacy from murder victim to a symbol for victims' rights, I will have accomplished what I set out to do."
Texas-born Doris Tate became a leader in the Crime Victims Rights Movement after the brutal murder of her eldest daughter, Sharon Tate, in 1969. Born Doris Gwendolyn Willett in Houston, Texas, she reshaped the victims' rights movement in California, tirelessly campaigning to radically change laws to allow the victims of violent crimes a more active role in the trials and sentencing of their perpetrators as well as allowing the families of murder victims a greater voice in the passing of crime-related laws. She was the mother of actress Sharon Tate, a victim of the 1969 "Manson Family" murder spree, which made international headlines for months and is generally regarded as one of the most senseless and heinous crimes of the 20th century. In a 1982 interview, Doris stated she was unable to even talk about her daughter's death "…for about three years…," but it would not be until another decade later when murderer Leslie Van Houten (who was not present at the Tate-Polanski home on August 9th, 1969, but helped to murder Rosemary La Bianca on August 10th) gathered approximately 900 signatures on a petition for parole. Doris countered with a petition drive that eventually garnered over 350,000 signatures. It was the realization that so many people were against parole for any of the so-called "Manson Family" that prompted Doris to come out of her deep depression, to talk more openly about her daughter's savage murder in public, and to find a way of honoring her daughter's memory by giving victims of violent crime and their families a stronger voice in the trials and sentencing of their perpetrators. These would come to be known as "victim impact statements," which was part of the 1982 California Proposition Number 8 "Victims Rights Bill," and Doris would be the first person in California to appear at the parole hearing of one of her daughter's murderers after the bill became law. That law would eventually be implemented nationwide. Doris became more involved in the victims' rights movement. She joined the L.A. chapter of Parents of Murdered Children (P.O.M.C.) and she was active in the groups Victim Offender Reconciliation, Justice for Homicide Victims and Citizens for Truth, among many others. She founded the organization Coalition on Victims' Equal Rights (COVER) and also served on the California State Advisory Committee on Correctional Services and stated that she would like to see all victims' rights groups unite. As determined as she was that her daughter's murderers should have been executed, and that they should never be paroled (the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty in 1972 in California v. Anderson. It was reinstituted in November of that year, but the new law could not be applied retroactively to murders committed before 1972), she also worked with offenders she felt could be rehabilitated. She told them the impact violent crime had on her and her family in the hopes she could deter them from committing more violent crimes once they were released. For her tireless work, she was named as one of President George H.W. Bush's "Thousand Points of Light" in 1992 along with receiving many awards from various victims rights organizations in the 1980s. The ceremony marking her as one of the "thousand points of light" would be her last public appearance as she died a few months later of a brain tumor she was diagnosed with in January 1992, according to her obituary in the Los Angeles Times. Former Deputy D.A. Stephen Kay stated in her Times obituary that Doris, "…really was the leader of the victims' rights movement." On May 12th, 1992, the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau was named in her honor. In 1995, the non-profit Doris Tate Crime Victims Foundation was established. It "…educates, supports and advocates for the rights of victims of violent crime," according to their website. Doris's main aim was to redefine her daughter's public legacy as more than a mere murder victim. She stated, "The most that I, or any person touched by violence, can hope for is acceptance of the pain. You never forget it, not even with the passage of time. But, if, in my work, I can help transform Sharon's legacy from murder victim to a symbol for victims' rights, I will have accomplished what I set out to do."
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6101039/doris_gwendolyn-tate: accessed
), memorial page for Doris Gwendolyn Willett Tate (16 Jan 1924–10 Jul 1992), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6101039, citing Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City,
Los Angeles County,
California,
USA;
Maintained by Randy Stroder (contributor 46518936).
Add Photos for Doris Gwendolyn Willett Tate
Fulfill Photo Request for Doris Gwendolyn Willett Tate
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.