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Nancy Gates Obituary
Nancy was met at the beautiful gates of heaven by her husband of 53 years, Gary, who preceded her in death in 2017. They will now spend eternity together dancing, golfing, enjoying fine wine, and traveling.
Nancy was born January 18, 1941, and was raised in Lodi, CA. She was the eldest daughter of Everett & Winifred Welby. Nancy met Gary in college at San Jose State University and worked shortly in the banking industry before having the opportunity to stay home and raise her twins, Brad & Mindi. Upon retirement they moved to Napa, CA to be a part of the wine industry and enjoy their golden years.
Nancy enjoyed a life of tennis, golf, and good friends. After Gary passed, she continued to travel, play golf, and recently took up Mahjong. She adored her grandchildren and always looked forward to speaking and visiting with them.
Nancy is preceded in death by her husband, Gary Gates. Nancy is survived by her children, Bradley Gates (wife Sandy Sauter) and Mindi Straw (husband Evan Malone); her sisters, Susan Paull (husband Armand Paull) and Gay Dumke; her grandchildren, Molli (Straw) Ray, Maddie (Gates) Walden, Seth Straw, and Allie Gates. She recently welcomed a great grandson, Damon Walden, who she looked forward to visiting in September.
We will be celebrating Nancy's life on October 18, 2025 in Napa. Come to share your memories and we will toast to a beautiful life. Further details forthcoming for friends and families.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Nancy Gates
5 Entries
Sue and Stephen Parry
July 16, 2025
Dear Brad, Sandy and Mindi, we are shocked and deeply saddened to learn of Nancy's death. Just last weekend I said to myself, gee, I haven't seen Nancy at the gym lately; perhaps she is travelling. My friendship with Nancy goes back 25 some odd years when I would stop by the Knoll house with checks or documents for Gary to sign in his capacity as secretary/treasurer for the Napa Valley Vintners Community Health Center. Nancy and I would get talking about local and national/worldly things and could chat for hours. Gary would sit politely while we went on and on. Nancy was gregarious and a trooper no matter what. When we ran into her in the new north Napa neighborhood, it was clear she already knew everybody and had made a great transition. We will remember her fondly.
Mindi Straw
July 12, 2025
My mom lived her very best life. She will be missed and I still cannot believe she is no longer with us.
Nora and John Doolittle
July 10, 2025
Nancy was one of the first people I actually met when I moved up to Pleasant Hill in 1971. I had seen an add for joining AAUW (American association of university women ) and at the time you had to show your degree to the membership chairman who was Nancy. She came over to our little rental house in Gregory Gadens in Pleasant Hill. I liked her instantly. I joined AAUW. To this day, my best friends are the ones I met through AAUW. We had quite a group and we all had kids ranging in age from new born to about 5 years s old. We had a babysitting coop and all babysat for each other and it was a great way to meet people. We knew no one when we moved up here. We had been with the military in Texas before Northern California. Nancy introduced me to AAUW and to this day my best friends are in that group of AAUW people she introduced me to. We had parties and all the husbands got to be friends also. That was in 1975 and we are all still friends n 2025. Nancy was sort of like the glue that held us all together. We will all miss her. We have fond memories of many camping trips with all the DOTS. We will all miss both of the Gates.
Norm and Carolyn Low
July 10, 2025
Sending much love to Nancy´s family. She is loved and will be missed greatly.
The Low´s ( from the St Helena Knoll )
Boyd and Marion Sauter
July 8, 2025
Brad and Mindi, we are so very sorry for your loss. We never had the opportunity to meet Nancy, but we thank her for raising an amazing son who became our wonderful son-in-law. And she was a lovely mother-in-law to our daughter Sandy, who loved her in return. May she rest in peace.
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