Kenneth Wayne Bates Sr.

Kenneth Wayne Bates Sr. went to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on November 30th, 2020 at the blessed age of 86, as a patient at St. James Hospital.

He was born to James W. Bates and Edith Mae (Dowling) Bates on October 22, 1934 in Bemidji, MN.

He grew up with four siblings during difficult times giving him the fortitude, strength, and leadership skills he would need to guide his family. He met the love of his life, Marlos Hayward, at the young age of 18 years old and wed when he was 20. They were just 18 days away from celebrating their 66th wedding anniversary when the Lord called him home.

He started out their marriage as a humble janitor in a bakery, but soon became the pie baker himself. However, by the winter of 1960 he left from Minnesota with his wife and two children to Seattle, Washington where they were blessed with four more children. While in Seattle, he became a functional test mechanic for the Boeing Aircraft Company. In 1975 he woke Marlos in the middle of the night and said, "I'm going to sacrifice my career, do you want to move to Anchorage, AK or Kalispell, MT, because we are getting the kids out of the city."

Upon moving to Montana, he spent time building their family log home with his son, Ken Bates Jr. Once it was livable, they retrieved Marlos and the girls and moved the family home. For a short time, he experimented with training and breeding horses. He also created many great hunting and fishing memories with his children, grandchildren, and other family. He loved being outdoors, and has hunted many animals, from grizzlies in Alaska, to deer, elk, and antelope in Montana. He also enjoyed fishing in Alaska, catching King and Silver Salmon, Dungeness Crab and Halibut. He was a man of great honor and highly revered.

He is survived by his wife Marlos Joanne Bates and their six children, Jodi (Rick) Gontz, Sherri (Mick) Martin, Cindi (Darron) Frye, Ken (Tina) Bates, Heidi (Rod) Ypma and Tammi Bates and sister Elaine Rex. He is also survived by 15 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren but was known as Grandpa Bates to many in his church. He will be greatly missed but we rejoice in knowing we will see him in heaven.