Richard ‘Dick’ Gates, 83

April 19, 1938 —

Dec. 27, 2021

 

CRESCO - Richard Gates, age 83, of Cresco, Iowa, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Dec. 27, 2021. He passed away peacefully with his wife and family at his side. 

A funeral service was held on Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lime Springs, Iowa. 

Richard Eugene Gates was born in Burr Oak, Iowa on April 19, 1938 to Don and Jeanette Gates. He was known to almost everyone as Dick. As a boy, he lived with his parents, brothers and sister on a farm northwest of Kendallville, Iowa.

He attended country school until the eighth grade. In ninth grade he began high school in Cresco and graduated in 1956. Dick was on the wrestling team and competed at the Iowa State Tournament. After graduation he moved to Rochester, Minn. and worked at Rochester Dairy. 

He met Carol Grudem from Zumbrota, Minn. on a blind date, where they saw “Gunfight at the OK Corral” at the drive-in theater. Carol went home and told her cousin she met the man she was going to marry. She says Dick didn’t stand a chance! They were married in 1959. 

The couple built a house in Rochester, and shortly after, Mark came along, and Matt followed three years later. In 1964 they moved to a farm by Kendallville, and Jenny came the next year. Dick farmed and milked cows. They moved to a farm on the Golden Ridge Road, northwest of Cresco in 1971, where they have lived until the present.

Dick farmed and began working for Koster Implement in 1973, where he sold John Deere equpment for many years while farming. He had various jobs for a time after that, before settling at Wykoff Co-op where he was manager for many years before retiring in 2007 at the age of 69. After retirement, he worked part-time for a neighboring farmer doing field work and driving semi until he was almost 80. He spent a lot of his free time playing golf, which he enjoyed immensely. 

Dick was on the church council and was also a lay preacher at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Lime Springs. He was known as a man of faith. He loved the Lord and had no question about his eternal destination.

Dick was universally liked by everyone who he crossed paths with. He was generous with his time and resources, touching many, many lives during his journey here. He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife, Carol (Grudem); sons, Mark (Pauline) Gates and Matthew (Deanna) Gates; daughter, Jenny (Brad) Johnson; grandchildren, Brandon (Cindy) Gates, Christina Gibbs (Brady Kime), Mallory Gates (Isiah), Nathan (McKenzie) Gates, Alex Gates and Bailey Gates; great-grandchildren, Ana, Talan, Liam, Hudson, Gabe, Kylee, Lexie and Ellie; brother, David (Hazel) Gates; sister, Donna Foote; and sister-in-law, Charlene Gates. He was also survived by two special girls, Carly and Kenedy Heimerdinger. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Jeanette (Anderson) Gates; brother, Larry Gates; and brother-in-law, Roger Foote.