Charles Warner Gates, II
September 23, 1926 – June 22, 2013
Charles Warner Gates, II, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 23rd, 1926. He was the son of Charles Clifford Gates and Lela Courson Gates.
His grandfather, Charles Warner Gates, for whom he was named, was a founding member of the Crossett Lumber Company in Crossett, Arkansas. He was also an early benefactor of the California Institute of Technology, (CalTech), in Pasadena, California, where he and his brother, A. Peter Gates, gave the Gates Hall of Chemistry, now used as the office of the president and others connected to Cal Tech administration.
When he was two years old his mother was widowed, and soon afterwards took him to live in France for four years. He learned to read and write and speak the French language, which he continued to read and speak and enjoy for the rest of his life.
After leaving France he moved to Pasadena with his mother and graduated from the Polytechnic School, the Cate School, in Carpenteria, California, and UC Berkeley, where he was in the School of Business. He graduated in 1948, and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.
In December of 1948 he married Helen Elizabeth (Betty) Upton, who graduated with him in the same class, and they had four children: Charles Warner Gates, III, William Upton Gates, Geoffrey Stephen Gates, and Elizabeth Courson Gates. They were married for 65 years.
When he retired as a Vice-President of Merrill Lynch, he moved to the Seattle area, and lived on Bainbridge Island for 18 years. He became active in the Mayflower Society of Washington State, and was one of their presidents. He was directly descended from Stephen Gates who came to the Boston area in 1636 from Hingham, England. The family subsequently married into the families of Stephen Hopkins and John Billington, two of the passengers on the Mayflower.
In addition to his wife and four children and their spouses, he leaves six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, a step-brother and sisters, and many cousins.
There will be a service at St. Barnabas Church on Saturday, July 6th, at 3 p.m. Contributions in his memory made be made to the Organ Fund of St. Barnabas Church, 1187 Wyatt Way, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.
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