Young Bates

Y.P. (Pat) Bates, of Alta, Wyoming; died May 1, 2009 in the Teton Valley Hospital from pancreatic cancer. He was born July 10, 1929 in Norman, Arkansas to David and Effie Bates, In 1941 the family moved to Clifton, Colorado where he graduated from Fruitvale High School. HE attended what was then the Mesa Junior College in Grand Junction, Colorado, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1948.

During the Korean conflict he was stationed with the First Marine Engineering Division and the Third Marine Division. During the Vietnam War he was station aboard the ammunition ship, USS Haleakala. He met and Married Ellen Abernethy in Rockville, Maryland while stationed at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington D.C..

After retiring from the Navy, he moved to Arco, Idaho; where he was employed by the U.S. Postal Service. Upon retiring from the Postal Service, he moved Alt, Wyoming. AN avid photographer and downhill skier, he enjoyed his retirement years skiing at Grand Targhee and enjoyed the beauty of the Teton Mountains.

He is survived by his wife Ellen; his son John, of Pocatello, Idaho; his sister Mildred Densmore (Bob), of Silver Springs, Nevada; his brother-in-law Norm Graham, of Idaho Falls, Idaho; his nephews, Charles Graham (Jackie), of Blackfoot, Idaho; David Graham, of Tuscon, Arizona; and Ralph Douglas, of Portland, Oregon. Pat's parents and his sister Patsy Graham preceded him in death.

A private graveside service is being held at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado at a later time. Local arrangements were under the direction of Valley Mortuary.

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