Neal was born October 26, 1925, in Mendota, MO, to Leslie E. Bates and Golda Perkins Bates. Neal was one of four children. He attended school in a one-room school house in Missouri. Upon the death of his mother, he moved to Denver with his father. They also resided in Steamboat Springs. With the onset of WWII, he joined the Merchant Marines in 1943.
Returning to Colorado he resided in Durango, where he met and married Winifred Dowds in 1948. Neal was a business partner with his brother, Lowell (Bud) Bates, in the Durango Texaco station. Neal and Winnie moved to Denver and then to Georgetown, CO, where he became a hard rock miner. He worked on the Moffat Tunnel, several other tunnels in the area, and the Smuggler silver mine in Silver Plume. Leaving Georgetown, CO, they moved to Grand Junction where he worked for Public Service as a Supervisor for the Cameo Power plant. He retired and built his own house and took up farming, raising hay, in Palisade, CO. That was the light of his life; he loved his neighbors and was always ready to help them out.
He is survived by his wife, Winifred; daughter, Sheila Bodie (Dennis); son, Gary Bates (Sandy); sister, Loma Terpstra; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Neal was loved by many and will be missed by all.
Funeral services will be held at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary at 2PM on Monday, August 20, with visitation from 1-2PM. Burial will follow at Memorial Gardens.
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