David Wayne Yates

David Wayne Yates was born October 7, 1951 at Columbia University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. His parents Earnie and Joyce Yates were proud to have him as their first born. He has four siblings: Cheri, Debra, Earnie Jr., and Michael Zane. David was raised as an “Air Force Kid” and lived all over the country including Alaska, before it was a state! He graduated from Dexter High School in Dexter, Missouri before going on to college where he graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

He met his wife, Jane, at Six Flags, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri, where they both worked. They married prior to his graduating college, and 15 months later welcomed their oldest child, Erik, into the world. David began working as a claims adjuster for an insurance company before working for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The family lived in Missouri, and then were transferred to Kansas. While living in Yates Center, Kansas, they welcomed their second child, Jana into the world as the only “Yates” born in Yates Center, Kansas.

They soon headed to Houston, Texas where David worked for the Houston Belt & Terminal Railroad. This was followed by promotions and transfers with the Union Pacific Railroad which brought the family to Bedford, Texas in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area where they were also close to Jane’s family. They were then transferred back to the Houston area.

It was at this time that David longed to fulfill a dream he had to one day be a lawyer. With encouragement from his brother Michael Zane, David took a transfer with the Union Pacific to St. Louis, Missouri where he worked full-time while attending St. Louis University Law School at night. Despite the busy schedule of full-time law school and work, David continued to be fully involved in his family, and continued to make every wrestling match, marching band competition and numerous other extra curricular activities of his children as well as being involved with his church.

Upon graduating, David began his legal career with his own legal practice. He continued working as a lawyer, both on his own, and for other law firms in St. Louis until 2004, when he and Jane moved back to Houston, Texas to be near their children and then 4 grandchildren. While back in Houston, 3 more grandchildren were added and David continued to be involved in each of their lives, showing up at ball games, recitals, and more.

Throughout his life, David loved his role as teacher and mentor as he served in the church. There are lots of people who learned from him in youth groups, singles classes, and more. At the time of his death, David was still involved in teaching adult small groups at their church in Texas.

In St. Louis, and then in Houston, David also began to go on mission trips to help those in need, and to share the gospel with those who had not heard about Jesus. These trips included journeys to Romania, Germany, Mongolia and China, Tanzania, and the most recent was to El Salvador. On these trips he worked with orphanages, rode by horseback to visit remote tribal peoples, shared his faith over the airways to millions in Dar es Salaam and the surrounding region, helped dig water wells, and more.

He was also active in supporting the missionary efforts of his children and grandchildren who have followed his lead in going to places such as Uganda and India. He also participated in helping his son’s efforts to bring a fresh water well to Ethiopia, as well his daughter and granddaughter’s work with trafficking victims locally and in India. The final week of his life, he helped with the formation of two non-profit organizations meant to help send missionary teams to fight human trafficking, instill justice initiatives, and another with the goal of planting churches and meeting the needs of people in Europe.

While David was caught off-guard of when his final moment on this earth would come, he was nonetheless prepared for that day. Through his steadfast faith in Jesus, he always spoke of how the greatest day of his life would be the moment when he died so that he could be with Christ. It grounded everything he did. From his love for family, his faithfulness and love to his wife, the way he modeled what a godly man lived like to his children, to his love for others in the way he conducted himself at work, in public, and his actions towards others. He was a man of prayer and unshakeable faith, even when facing difficult struggles.

Throughout his life, we constantly heard of others telling us how they could tell that David was a Christian man just by the way he conducted himself, and the love he radiated. He was the same man in public that he was in private. He was confident in his beliefs, but loved others well. In his death, this description has continued to be brought up by those who had even just met him, including one man who moved in across the street the night before David died. One meeting and he was struck by David’s countenance, and how he must have been a man of faith. This was David’s greatest aim, that others may see Jesus through his actions, and it ultimately is his greatest legacy.

He was extremely funny and was known for his “nice-guy” rap which was humorously not very nice, and for declaring to his grandchildren that “I’m cute” to which they would insist that he was “handsome”. He loved sports, especially the St. Louis Cardinals, Kurt Warner, J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans. He was present when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ single season home run record, and even met Hall of Fame Yankees pitcher, Ron Guidry. He also loved music and film. He stayed current with bands, attending concerts of newer artists like the Kongos with his granddaughters, and catching classic acts like Eric Clapton with his son and son-in-law. He loved going to the theater to see big films on the IMAX screen, as well as watching classic movies on television. He was even known to watch all of the movies on the Hallmark channel and every show he could find involving a chef or a lawyer.

David died at 3:36a.m. on July 1, 2015 and is survived by his wife Jane, son Erik and his wife Janet, his daughter Jana and her husband Jason, and 7 grandchildren who called him “Papaw”: Rachael, Ruth, Hezekiah, Jena, Isaiah, Ariel, and Elijah. He is also survived by his mother Joyce, and his brothers and sisters: Cheri, Debra, Earnie Jr., and Michael Zane and their families. He also is survived by his cousins, nieces, nephews, and other family as well as his mother-in-law Rachael Rucker, his brother-in-laws-and their families: Jeff and Pam Rucker and their children and families, Dick and Patsy Rucker and their children and families, and Resa Rucker and her children and their family. He was preceded in death by his father Earnie A. Yates, Sr. and his father in law, Charles Rucker and his brother in law, David Rucker.

And while he is gone, he will never be forgotten. His faith, his acts of service for others, and the love he invested in his wife and family will continue to manifest itself as they serve others with the same love for Christ that he modeled. We also believe, as he did, that death is not the final word. In Christ, we have the promise of eternal life and a new creation that will eventually lead to a glorious reunion. Until that day, we will mourn his passing, but will rejoice as we live our lives committed to the same faith he had. We know that we will see David again because of our shared faith in the resurrected Jesus. We know that his prayer was that this future reunion would include all of those he met in this life. His desire was that everyone would know Jesus and the peace it brought. It grounded everything he did. If you saw anything in David worth emulating, it flowed from his relationship with Jesus.

We invite you to post your memories, stories, and thoughts of your relationship with David here as well, knowing that through such a shared experience, his legacy might continue to be felt by all who read, consider, and act as a result of David’s example.

He loved well and he is greatly loved.

Until we are reunited….

Jane, Erik, and Jana, Janet, Jason, Rachael, Ruth, Ki, Jena, Isaiah, Ariel and Elijah.

In lieu of flowers, feel free to make a donation to support David Yates' greatest passions, his family and the missions projects he was involved in. Donations can be made at:

http://www.gofundme.com/davidyates