Martin W. Bates

Martin Wise Bates (Marty Bates) passed away Thursday, July 9, 2020.

He was born February 5, 1937, in Benkelman, Neb. He was the son of Francis Evan Bates and Greta Marie (Wise) Bates. He had many fond memories of growing up on his parents’ cattle ranch in Nebraska. Marty attended St. Mary’s High School in Colorado Springs and Regis College in Denver, Colo. He was a proud United States Navy Veteran, and served aboard the USS Philippine Sea. He was also a proud American, the Bates family came to America in 1682, purchasing their land from William Penn.

Marty married Glennis Maxine (Bush) Bates on January 2, 1957. They were married more than 63 years. He started his career with IBM in Los Angeles and was then transferred to Denver, where his career took him to Brunswick Aloe as a sales manager in medical sales. He spent more than 35 years in medical sales and was transferred to several cities in the Midwest, while his and Glennis’s family grew rapidly. Their final transfer was to Thousand Oaks, Calif., in 1973, where he continued in medical sales, and was also a real estate broker.

Marty was vice president of the Kansas Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was the president of the Villa Park Little League, in Orange County.  He was president of St. Paschal Baylon Men’s Club and lector for the church; many people remember his deep, resonant voice. He was a member of the Thousand Oaks Rotary Club, serving on many committees and organizing the Chili Cookoff. Marty Bates proudly served as an elected official on the Ventura County Board of Education as president and board member for 24 years. He was the grandson of a Nebraska State Legislator, which may be where he got his love of politics.

Marty’s proudest accomplishment, though, was his family: 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great- grandchildren. He is survived by his wife, Glennis Bates; his sisters, Barbara Edwards and Francine Pieper; his brother-in-law, Richard Bush; his sister-in-law, Sue Bush; his children, Kelly (Ron) McKinney, Martin (Nancy) Bates, Kathleen (Scott) Nelson, Kristine (Mark) Lorenz, and Karin Bates; his grandchildren, Lauren (Joey) Cappuccino, Erin (James) Lynch, Eric Howell, Evan (Heather) Nelson, Sean (Shanna) Nelson, Jenna Nelson, Matthew Lorenz, Nicholas (Annemarie) Lorenz, Austyn Lorenz, Riley Warren, and Kalli Warren; his great-grandchildren, Jeremiah, Josiah and Jacob Nelson; Francesca, Livia and Katherine Cappuccino; Cannon and Griff Lynch; Sawyer, Jude and Colette Nelson; and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Bates had a way with young people; he loved to give nicknames to all his grandchildren and the neighborhood kids. They could always count on a healthy dose of teasing and a lot of laughs. He will be greatly missed by his family and community.

A private service will be held.