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View a eulogy for Vane Quentin Bates, USMA '55, who passed away on June 22, 2013.

Vane Quentin Bates

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Keith Sim on June 25, 2013:

I found this West Point Alumni organization web site by sheer accident on google while querying for more information on Mr. Quent Bates after I heard the news of Mr. Bates passing on June 22, 2013. I am one of his many extremely well-served LBA clients. I was the GSA project manager for several elevator modernization projects in Philadelphia, PA where Mr. Quent Bates provided elevator consulting services dating back to 1993 to 2006 or so. We continued to communicate off on until March, 2013 or so when I last spoke with him on the phone.

Although most people called or referred him by his middle name Quent (I think he preferred Quent over Vane), I always referred to him as, "Mr. Bates" out of respect for his dignified statue, highly polished mannerism, well-spoken, professionalism as well as his down to earth "humbleness" approaches. Also, being some 30 years younger than Mr. Bates and having been taught to respect the elders in the oversea country where I grew up, I thought it was more appropriate to address him as such and Mr. Bates was near my father's age, after all.

I was introduced to Mr. Bates when I was (I still am) only a lowly compensated government worker struggling to assemble a 28-car elevator modernization project for the 23-story Federal Buildings in Philadelphia, PA. Mr. Bates patiently walked and worked with me the entire 2-1/2 year phase of construction, traveling from Denver to Philadelphia every other week without ever complaining or mentioning any travel-related exhaustions. And I will never forget his cool composure when we (Mr. Bates & I) had to negotiate a change order with the contractor where the contractor slammed the 5-gal bucket on the table and stormed out of conference room when they could not get their way. Mr. Bates calmly and collectively, and in his usual soothing voice, called them back to the conference room and placated the contractor to resume discussion. After concluding the negotiation to the benefit of mutual parties, the contractor was so apologetic for his behavior and marveled at Mr. Bates' cool composure and professionalism before he left for the day. Wow...

And during the course of next 10 years or so that ensued after the successful completion of the 28-car Philadelphia project, Mr. Bates and I worked together on many other elevator modernization projects to a similar successful completion all thanks to Mr. Bates' influential as well as inspirational approaches to the project and his clients.

Mr. Bates will be forever remembered and deeply missed as he was a great man never to be replicated on earth. Harry, my retired co worker, who worked with Mr. Bates and I, wrote in his e-mail recently, "Quent always was one of a kind and a very good kind to be sure. I am certain you will, as well as I, remember the smooth and effective style Quent brought to the table, in no way over powering but in a definitive way influential, while creating momentum toward a solution. Quite a man, that Quent."

Mr. Bates, I will miss you greatly and your telephone closing remarks, "talk to you some more later....."

Rest in peace,
Keith

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