Ralph (Gray Eagle) Bates

6/6/1943 ~ 12/26/2019

Ralph (Gray Eagle) Bates born June 6th 1943 in Las Vegas New Mexico crossed over and joined his ancestors on December 26th 2019…he was 76 years of age. Ralph (Gray Eagle) Bates is survived by his beloved wife Patricia (Rusty) Bates, his sons Robert and Damon and his daughter Denise (Neven) Hannon. Ralph had 11 grandchildren 21 great grandchildren, 1 great grandchild and four fur babies. Ralph loved the outdoors. He love fishing hunting and spending time in the mountains with his wife and his fur babies. His passion was his Native American lineage and he celebrated his heritage with great pride. He was Southern Cherokee an Choctaw. During his time with his tribe he was proudly appointed Nation Chief and represented his people in our Nations Capitol to bring about great changes for future generations. Ralph was proud to be a pipe carrier and in his time he humbly used his gifts from the Creator to serve others in their time of need and was gifted with the highest honor from his peers the Eagle Feather. Ralph entered the Navy at 17 years of age and proudly served his country with 3 tours in Vietnam. Finally decided after being shot down a third time he should leave the Navy before his luck ran out and went to work for them as a civil servant and then went on to be one of the most sought after designing engineers for the oil industry allowing him and his wife to travel the world for work. Ralph was devoted to the love of his life Rusty and was known for saying that nothing existed before her. He was a kind and generous man who was always willing to lend a hand to his neighbors. Memorial service will be held January 2, 2019 at the red brick church in Mt Pleasant 49 S. State Street at 1:00 pm. Online condolence at www.rasmussenmortuary.com