Russell C Gates

Russell Cameron Gates, age 83, died Saturday, July 14, 2007 at Vancouver, WA after a prolonged illness.

Graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 18, 2007 at Garden City Cemetery. Mankato Mortuary in charge of local arrangements.

Russell was the grandson of the Honorable Ezra Gates, who in 1905 as State Representative, helped establish Minneopa State Park, 3rd of its kind in Minnesota. Born and raised in Garden City, Minnesota, the Gates family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1935 after Russell's father's death. After high school, Russell joined the Merchant Marines and after two years he enlisted in the US Navy during World War II, serving from 1944 to 1946. After discharge, he attended Cal State Polytechnic College, earning a BS in Social Sciences. He began a long career as a school teacher but continued college and received and MA in Education from Cal Poly in 1955. As a teacher for Ventura County Schools in California, he was selected as "Teacher of the Year" 25 of 30 years at Cabrillo Middle School. He was often honored as an advanced and forward-thinking educator. Russell and his wife, Sandra returned to the Portland area in 1987 and then moved to Cannon Beach in 1994.

Russell is survived by his wife, Sandra Gates of Cannon Beach, OR; sons, David of Oxnard, CA and Richard of Moss Beach, CA; granddaughter, Heather of San Francisco, CA; brothers, Glenn and Thurston.