Richard H. Gates

Richard "Dick" Holland Gates past away on Sunday December 18, 2011 at Kaiser Medical Center at Moanalua. He retired in 2003 as Vice President and General Manager for the Hawaii Region of the McKesson Corporation.

He is survived by his beloved wife Chae Han; daughter Julie Gates; stepson, Sang Woo Kim; step-daughters, Myong Jin Boyadjin, Myong Hee Miyake, and Tammy Suh. brothers, Charles Gates, John Gates, Joe Gates, Ronnie Gates and sister Jane Suthard. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of his Life will be held at Borthwick Mortuary - Mauka Chapel on Wednesday December 28, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

Services: 10:30 a.m. Inurnment with military honors will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl).

Richard Holland Gates was born May 11, 1938 in Gaston, North Carolina. He came from a family of seven and grew up in Great Falls, South Carolina. Dick, as most people called him, was the second son of Charles W. Gates and Mable E. Ingle. Dick lived a full and happy life.

He had many accomplishments throughout his years and traveled across the United States. He entered the Air Force as soon as he turned 18. From the Air Force, he went to college in California; and from there he started working for McKesson Drug Company in 1964, currently known as McKesson. After 39 years of hard work and outstanding records of accomplishments, Dick retired on July 18, 2003. He has made a huge impact and left a legacy with McKesson as he retired as Vice President and General Manager of the Hawaii Region. Under his leadership, his team has always been one of the top performers [in sales], dominated the Retail Independent segment on the Islands, and broke numerous sales records for the company.

On December 20, 1979, Richard married Chae Han Yu, the love of his life. Couple years later, they had an unexpected surprise… a granddaughter that they raised since January 9, 1981, then later adopted in 1990. Julie was the joy of their lives and spoiled her as much as they could. Everyone knew and heard about Julie, whether they met her or not.

Richard was known to be a realist and a fighter throughout his life. Everyone that knew Dick, always knew where they stood with him. He has been faced with many challenges in his personal life and throughout his career. He has had a pacemaker put in him, had Bell’s Palsy and survived, vocal chord cancer, gallbladder removed; and later, Dick Gates was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in September 2010. Along with the AML, he also found out his vocal chord cancer resurfaced. One thing was for sure, no matter what he was going through and what challenges he was facing… all he wanted was to walk his little girl down the aisle. He fought a great battle and got his wish on walking Julie down the aisle and giving her away with the strength he had on September 24, 2011.

Richard Gates had a kind gentle soul for being 6’2” and 265 lbs [before the cancer], was a loyal friend, a great mentor, a devoting family man, beloved husband, and most importantly… the greatest Dad/Grandpa in the world. He will truly be missed and loved by his loved ones and people he crossed paths with.