Dear Claire and Caroline, Your dad and I went to High School together. My name is Michael Cain and my nickname was Crash. I love your dad and we were very good friends, I am so sorry for your loss. When I was touring with Stevie Nicks , Rod Stewart, CSN , and Bonnie Raitt , he was my guest and I looked forward to seeing him. My email is  slitz@sbcglobal.net. I would love to hear from you guys.

Claire & Caroline,
I'm your dad's cousin... his dad and my mom were brother & sister.  I know there is nothing I can say that will take the pain of losing your dad away.  Just know that you have family, even though you have never met me...  I'd love to get to know you.  And I'm always here if you want someone to talk to.   Look for me on FB. 
Jan (Reid) Gillispie

I went to Leelanau High School with Fred Gates and I will never forget him. He was the funniest guy I knew. Could make you laugh just with a look. Enjoyed every minute I spent in his company. (Steve Barber is a friend in common.) Went back to the reunions and just loved being around him. What a terrific outlook he had. So wonderfully funny and full of insight and sarcasm all at the same time. Really quite hysterically silly at times. He was a very cool guy in my eyes and I will miss him. Bon voyage on your next journey that awaits you Fred. 
Ross Kravitz Leelanau 1968.

Dear Claire and Caroline,
I met your Dad through Steve Barber.  Whenever I was in Atlanta for business we had dinner together.  They were always fun as well as insightful.  He talked of you girls often and was a very proud Father.  Your Dad was extremely creative and would send me his short stories to review.  When I return home from my present business trip I will search for them an send them to you.  I told him often that he should have them published.  Fred, I miss you and Atlanta will never be the same again!

Dear Claire and Caroline,
As you are well aware, I was very grateful when your Dad found me online and we were able to get re-acquainted 11 years ago after a 32-year period of dormancy. Fred was probably my best pal from high school and we were easily able to resuscitate our friendship and continue where we left off with our bizarre behavior. I consider myself most fortunate to have crossed paths with Fred along life's way. 
And I am MOST grateful to Caroline for having contacted me as I did not want for Fred to slip away before I could spend some more time with him. Fred, you leave a tremendous void in my life as well as those of many others. I look forward to catching up with you on the other side!

Godspeed

My dad Jerry was very close with Freddie and I always loved talking to him so much. I will miss him and his contagious laugh and our long conversations where he gave me so much good insight. He was such a smart amazing guy.

I was sorry to hear of Fred's death.  I worked for him from 1987-1992 and have often wondered how he was doing.

Dear Claire and Caroline,  
Knew your Dad through Jamie (Jim) Dacus and Don Griffin back in their Theta Chi days.  Always a nice guy.  Am sorry for your loss. 
Laura Currie  -  Midland, MI

Claire and Caroline,
I am so sorry to hear of your fathers' passing.  I will treasure the memories of family get-togethers at my Mothers home-laughing,talking and hearing the family stories from aunts and uncles.  The cousins always ended up in my sister and my bedroom listening to the latest rock and roll records.  It was so nice to reconnect with Fred this past year as we attended a funeral for one of our aunts and then an uncle.  Family was important to your dad and he was very proud of you. He delighted in sharing your latest accomplishments. I will keep you in thought and my prayers.

my condolences go out to claire and caroline and carol at the passing of fred.. he was a uniquie individual to say the least and i will miss our long distance phone calls that kept us connected over the years and the miles..godspeed his journey to whatever lies ahead of us.  i wish you all a peaceful transition as you adjust to his absence from your lives.....don griffin

I am very saddened by the loss of Fred. He went to MSU with my dad Jim Dacus.  I have great memories of him from when I was a young girl...he was so much fun! He definitely gave me a lot of laughs.  I wish I would have had the chance to know him better in my adult years. I will always love Mr. Fred Gates the United States. He will be greatly missed by our family. Sending love and condolences from the Dacus Family to all of Fred's loved ones. Rest Peacefully, Fred. We love you

Claire and Caroline,

I first met your dad about 1983, when I went to work for the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation. The Board is our court for workers' compensation cases. So, I worked for the court and your dad brought cases there to be decided by my bosses. I was just a few years younger than your dad, and we became good friends very quickly. I love the University of Georgia football almost as much as he loved Michigan State and USC. We talked often about football and about the music of the 1950s and 1960s. Your dad knew more about that music than anyone else I have ever known! Even more than music and football, we talked about you two. He was so proud of you both, and he told me about you every time we spoke.

In later years I went into private law practice representing injured workers, doing work similar to what your dad did for many years. He was very helpful to me when I started my practice. I will always be grateful for his help. Moreover, though, I will be thankful for his friendship. Your dad was a wonderful man, and I will miss him greatly. I pray that good memories of your dad will give you great comfort and peace in the coming days and in all the years ahead.

Claire and Caroline
You dad and I were friends from the time he moved to Atlanta.  We tried cases against each other but still were great friends.  We were able to be adversaries in court but friends outside of court.  He was so intelligent and well educated! He was a delight to be with, always having something interesting to say.  All of us lawyers loved your dad.  He was very caring for everyone he knew.  What a wonderful man he was.  You should be very proud of him.  He was certainly proud of you and loved you very much.  Greg Presmanes

Dear Claire Caroline.

It was with a great sense of loss when I heard of your Dad's death. I wanted to let you know that you have my greatest sympathy, and my heart is truly saddened. 

I can assure that Fred was a very good man with a very tender heart.  One of the many things that I admire from Fred, was that his girls always were his priority.  When you're in town, Fred would do anything to re-schedule or cancel any of the office compromises just to be there for his girls. He was DAD #1.

For me, Fred will always be a big, grouchy, teddy bear and, I know that his passing will not only leave a void in our lives, but in the hearts of all those who knew him. He will always remain within my heart, and I have included  you and your mom in my daily prayers. May God give you strength.

Claire and Caroline is anything that I can do to help you in anyway, please do not hesitate to call me at anytime. 

My sincere thoughts and prayers are with you.

With deepest sympathy,

Dear Family and Fred's many Friends, 

I was privileged to join Fred as the first drummer with "Bo and the Airheads" followed by the reunions where we got to "dream the dream" all over again.  I was looking forward to being with him, again, for our October 2011 reunion.  

Fred, thanks for the great memories!  

Bob Kramm

Fred was a fraternity brother of mine at Michigan State.  We kept in touch over the years.  It was always a pleasure to talk with him.  He was a very smart guy who always called it like he saw it.  He always made me laugh and had a positive outlook.  He didn't take life for granted and lived it to the fullest.  He always told me how proud he was of his kids and shared their successes.  He was a good man and he will be missed. Thanks for being a part of my life. God Speed.

May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.

Fred will be missed by his Theta Chi Brothers at Michigan State.  I always hoped Fred would venture back to California, but when he met Carol and they had the girls, I knew his heart was forever with them and his life would revolve around them.
Fred was very close to my daughter, Dawn when she was younger and I knew he would be a loving father. Fred was like a Brother to me and the entire Dacus Family will  miss him!!!
Love, Jer

Dear Claire and  Caroline.

We are so sorry to hear about your Dad's death.  We fondly remember our time getting to know your family in the St. Andrews neighborhood when we all lived in Atlanta.  We know how proud he was of both of you, and he loved you so very much.  Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.  

Love,

Patty, Kevin, Emily, and Carly Shea

Dear Family:  I am so sorry for your loss.  Cindy Cromer/Drew Eckl

Dear Carol, Claire, and Caroline,
I was saddened to hear of Fredâ€™s passing. We grew up together back in Michigan, and I spent many happy days visiting with him, Uncle Fred and Aunt Marie there at their house in East Lansing and at the Gates family reunions. Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Dear Carol, Claire & Caroline:

Words cannot express how sorry I am for your loss.  I worked for Fred for two years when his office was located in midtown.  Fred taught me many things about legal matters and I benefited from his knowledge.  He was always willing to teach.  Fred loved his family.  He had pictures of you all around him, which he cherished.  He was a complex man, and was an interesting personality.  He was so knowledgeable about legal matters, and often "talked over my head"....he was, in my opinion, borderline genius.  He loved the Three Stooges, one time I brought my son Tommy to his office when Tommy was about 7 or 8 years old.  Fred brought in old movies like the Three Stooges for Tommy to watch.  He cared about people and represented his clients well.  This world has lost a great attorney and a good man.  I will keep your family in my prayers.  God bless you.  Sincerely, Karen Koslowski

Claire and Caroline,
I'm very sorry that your father has passed.
Fred touched my life in so many ways. I met Fred in 2003, when he gave me the opportunity to start working for him at his law firm. I worked for him for 7 years and I got to know him, not only as a boss, but as a human being. I admired his intelligence and talent when he resolved his law cases. He was a great teacher to me, he taught me so many things about workers compensation and I will be always very thankful for that. I will be also very thankful for all the trust he bestowed upon me, he always made sure that I felt his appreciation for the work I did for him. Fred was a great story teller; his life was full of adventures, which he would share with people in such a fun way, that you could listen to him for hours.  However, there is something that touched my heart more than anything about Fred, and that is his relationship with you girls, Claire and Caroline will be always Fredâ€™s treasures in his life. He told me that Claire and Caroline were the greatest wonder that happened in his life. I know that he was very happy and proud about his girls and your lives brightened his life.
I will miss Fred for sure! 
Claire and Caroline you will be in my prayers and my love and support will always be here for you.

OBITUARY

Fred Seward Gates

January 15, 1950 – July 4, 2011

H.M. Patterson & Son-Oglethorpe Hill Chapel

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