William V. "Bill" Bates

William "Bill" Vernon Bates, Jr. joined his heavenly father December 15, 2018 after a two-year battle with leukemia. He was born September 7, 1945 in Clinton, Oklahoma to Vernon and Hazel Bates. He graduated from high school in Arapaho, Oklahoma in 1963 and graduated from Southwestern State College in Oklahoma in 1967 with a degree in physics and mathematics.

He began a career at NASA in 1967. He worked in Flight Control during the Apollo 11 space mission. He also worked in Flight Safety and on the international Space Station. After 33 years at NASA, he retired and worked for five years at Boeing. He then fully retired. He remained active in his church, St. Stephen Presbyterian. He also loved travel and reading history, biographies, and current events.

He is survived by his wife Judy, of 53 years, his daughter Dana Dressel and her husband Jeff, his son Paul, two grandsons Zachary and Aidan Dressel, his sister Dottie Pieper, and his brother Gene Bates.