Vane Quentin Bates

West Point, 1955

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Karen Merrill on July 8, 2013:

Our family was blessed to have Quent come into our home each month as a "home teacher". This is where the men in our "ward" or local church unit would come and share a gospel message and check on the families that were assigned to them. Quent sometimes came alone, sometimes with another fellow and sometimes with his beautiful Anna. But he ALWAYS came and we loved having him each month. As was mentioned many times at his funeral, he was extremely interested in the people he knew and loved and even in strangers. He took a great interest in our teenagers who were still at home. Usually teenagers moan a little when home teachers come over because they might be boring or they think they have something better to do. Chelsea and Bradley LOVED having Quent come over. He always geared his message to them and mostly he just wanted to know all about their lives and applaud them for their accomplishments. One very wet afternoon my husband and I were watching Chelsea play soccer in the rain. It was pretty miserable. Ron looked over to the corner of the field and noticed a tall, stately man in a lovely yellow slicker watching the game. Yes, it was Quent. He and Anna also attended just about every one of Brad's High School basketball games. And Quent didn't just attend, he cheered!! He came up with a nickname for him too. "GO cornpone" he would yell. The coach had said that Brad was not the most talented player or the fastest but he was like a corn fed mule who just went in and plowed through and got the job done and that inspired the nick name for Quent. Every time Ron and I heard him cheering for our boy, we smiled! Brad is now 25 and getting married next month. He was so excited to have Quent and Anna be a part of his big day. All of our children have expressed how sad they are to have lost this great man who was a part of our family in Colorado. He and Anna also came to Brad's missionary homecoming here in Utah which meant the world to us. Ron and I loved observing Quent and Anna as such a happily married couple who were still very much in love after decades together. They so enjoyed each other's company and showed great respect for one another. What a beautiful example they set for us! I never heard either of them say an unkind word about the other. Whenever Quent mentioned Anna, his eyes would light up. It is hard to imagine this world without Quent Bates in it. Thankfully he left such a mark on us that his influence will be felt for the rest of our earthly lives. We love you Quent! We love you Anna!

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