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Donald George Bates
Donald George Bates
Posted 10/10/12
Funeral services for Donald George Bates will be at noon Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church with the Rev. Jared Tucher officiating.
Burial will follow in Mount Pisgah Cemetery with military honors provided by the American Legion Post 42 and VFW.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Gillette Memorial Chapel.
Mr. Bates, 84, of Gillette died of natural causes on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012, at Campbell County Memorial Hospital surrounded by family and friends.
He was born Nov. 9, 1927, in Gillette. He was raised and educated in Gillette. In 1945, he entered the military serving in the U.S Army during World War II in Germany.
He married Elsie Mary Olsen on April 7, 1950, in Harden, Mont. Shortly after the couple married, Mr. Bates was called back into the service, serving in Fort Eustis, Va., and Korea. During this time the couple had their first child, Donna.
After his honorable discharge, the family returned to Gillette, where their second child, Donald David, was born. The family lived in different towns throughout the state where he worked at various jobs. Their family was complete with the adoption of their third child, Gail.
The family then made their home in Gillette when he began working at Wyodak in 1958. The family moved to Sheridan in 1976, where he worked for Big Horn Coal until 1993 when he was diagnosed with cancer and the family returned to Gillette.
He was a lifetime member of the American Legion, VFW and NRA. He enjoyed hunting, camping and traveling. He enjoyed singing and was a self-taught guitar player at a very young age, playing for his family, singing in church choir and most recently at the Campbell County Senior Center.
Mr. Bates is survived by his daughters, Donna Foster of Gillette, and Gail Layden of Elizabeth, Colo.; brother, Scott John Bates of Lead, S.D; seven grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Elsie; son, Donald as well as brothers Dick Bates and Jim Bates.
Memorials are suggested to benefit the American Cancer Society of Wyoming, Gillette Relay For Life team 29. Memorials and condolences may be sent in Mr. Bates’ name in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel, 210 W. Fifth St., Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences als may be sent via the Internet to www.gillettememorialchapel.com or attached to the obituary at www.gillettenewsrecord.com.
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I was a boy when I med Don. He hired me to help him build a porch on his mobile home while he lived at Wyodak. He invited me to join him and his family in their 'jam sessions' and I learned much from him and his family.
years later I saw him, Elsie, and youngest daughter at the Sheridan Indian Days festivities. He was a good man, a good teacher, and a good friend to a young man my age.
David Reisch