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Vane Quentin Bates
West Point, 1955
Be Thou At Peace
Posted by George W. Page on June 25, 2013:
I first met Quent when we both were assigned to C-1 ("Chicken One") at West Point. He had, in my opinion, the highest military aptitude in the class, and perhaps all cadets in C-1, while we were there. He was my Platoon leader "Firstie year." He was a "star man" and Gung-ho, and one of several of us in C-1 who were commissioned as 2nd Lts. in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was one of the four C-1 classmate ushers at Patty & my military wedding on the 11th of June 1955 in Atchison, Kansas. Quent was a very religious person and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Because of his friendship he gave me a laminated plaque of the Cadet Prayer, which I still cherish and recently took by U-haul to our new home in SC.
Patty and I accompanied Quent and John & Ruth Sloan on their camping honeymoon down US Highway 101 along the scenic California coast in 1960.
Unfortunately for the Corps of Engineers and the US Army, Quent resigned from the service after a tour in Hawaii with an Engineer Battalion where he served with Rich Miller and several other classmates. During his tour in Hawaii he met a good looking (Scandinavian descent) PanAm Stewardess by the name of Anna.
They were soon married and moved to Colorado and raised their family. Quent first worked for Houghton Elevator and then for Mr. Charles Lerch. In 1947, their founder, Charles Lerch left Otis Elevator Co. to strike out on his own doing maintenance and repairs as C. W. Lerch Co. in Chicago. Always focused on client needs, he added elevator consulting as a side business in response to client requests.Quentin Bates knew the reputation of Charles Lerch and actively sought an opportunity to work together. Quentin Bates left Haughton Elevators in 1964 to join Lerch and both men committed to full time elevator consulting. The firm moved to its present headquarters in Denver, Colorado in the same year. In 1974 the company was incorporated as Lerch Bates & Associates. By the 80's building boom, Lerch Bates had 15 offices throughout North America. In 1984 the Healthcare group was added, now known as the Logistics Group. In 1985 Lerch Bates Limited in London was formed. In 1986 Lerch Bates became an employee owned consulting firm. Much like the early days, each employee/owner takes an entrepreneur's interest in providing the service, quality and ingenuity our clients expect and deserve.
Lerch Bates is now an international elevator consulting services firm with 35 offices throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and India. Founded over 65 years ago, with elevator consulting as it's cornerstone, we advise architects, developers, building investors, owners and managers on the design, sustain ability and continuous use of a wide spectrum of building systems for any size or type of building.
They address each client's unique requirements for New Construction, Modernization, Maintenance and Acquisition from a customized selection of our integrated disciplines in Elevator Consulting, Logistics and Facade Access. They work in a wide range of sectors, including, among others, Commercial, Hotel, Residential, Healthcare, Retail, Education, Government, Transportation, Stadium, and Entertainment venues.
Patty and I would often see Quent when he would visit us in Springfield, VA, in the mid 1970s to bring ice cream to our children, who he knew well. He would often offer us tickets to the Army Football games at West Point as he was a longtime season ticket holder. I last saw him when he came to the Class Brunch at the Army-Navy Club in VA last December. He and Anna planned to attend the Mini-Reunion in Birmingham, but Quent had a seizure the day prior to departing and woke-up in the hospital, not remembering anything!
While Patty & I were at that Mini, Quent went to watch our grandson, Robart Page @ 7 feet, play volleyball for UCLA against BYU, who were ranked #1. We know that Quent routed for his LDS oriented BYU, but did go up and meet Rob after UCLA lost to BYU! Quent faxed me photos of their get together and the newspaper write-up of the game.
Quent will indeed be missed as he and Anna were a great part of our lives since our days in C-1.
George W. Page
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