Lawrence Grey Cates
1931 - 2007

Obituary in the Estacada Newspaper Click here


Lawrence was born in Montana, the eldest child of Grey and Naomi (Boles) Cates.
He died at his home in Estacada,Oregon, following a long illness with Emphysema, at the age of 76.

He is survived by his two children, David Cates and Debra (Cates) Boyd, and his brother Clarence Cates. His daughter was with him when he passed.


The first 5 years of his life was spent living at the farm of his grandparents, Ida and Fred Boles. His parents found work at the neighboring fields. When his siblings started arriving,Lawrence was brought back home to help care for them.


He told many stories like the times of hiding in the laundry hamper and attic at the Boles farm when his parents would come to take him home and all the adventures of learning farm life with Grandpa and his horses.

As with many families of the Great Depression, Lawrence and his family traveled to anywhere his father could find work, pulling a small trailer with all their essential belongs behind the car.

Lawrence served in the US Navy 1951 - 1955 and earned his diploma at the Boise Junior College in 1959.

He married Mary McGregor in 1952 which, 28 years later, ended in divorce.

In the early 60's, the family had moved to Milwaukie, Oregon and in 1969 to Estacada, Oregon.

Around 1964, Lawrence took a job with the Columbia Rubber Mills in Portland. He worked his way through the various departments (press room, sandblasting, quality control, etc) over the years earning promotions and ultimately being promoted to Superintent, supervising all aspects of the business. In 1982, he suffered a major heart attack and was subsequently "let go".

Although he never remarried, Lawrence had two long term relationships following his divorce. First with Thelma Savage, with whom he shared an Antique business and then with Arthel Lundy,
whom he helped with her blueberry business. He remained good friends with both.

Lawrence had kind, blue eyes that twinkled, an impish playfulness,and a friendly way about him. He was well liked by his community and neighbors, always ready and willing to lend a hand. Lawrence was also strong-willed and stubborn! Make no mistake about it - He did things his way and lived life on his own terms.

Lawrence enjoyed working on his tractors and cars, working around the farm, and just as easily and naturally could appreciate the beauty of a piece of delicate antique glass.

Lawrence was a loving and devoted father to his kids. He enjoyed raising his children and preparing them for adulthood. He reveled in their successes and consoled in their failures.

Lawrence was a terrific Dad, Brother, Uncle, Nephew, Son, Grandson, and Friend. According to his mother (God rest her soul), he was the perfect son from the minute he was born and she never had to spank or otherwise correct him -although he remembered it differently! It was, indeed, rare to hear anyone say a cross word about this man.


He will be deeply missed by all those whose lives he touched.





Lawrence was a firm believer that if you have anything you really want to tell anyone, you should do it while they're alive, not after they're dead. He didn't want to have anyone mourning at his graveside - he wanted his friends and loved ones to get on with their lives after he's gone and simply remember all the good times they shared. To this end, it was his request that he be cremated and that no services be held.

He carried the following poem in his wallet for many years:

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the mornings hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.


Special notes from Debbie (Cates) Boyd:
I remember a time when I was young, Dad was working on building the shed in the backyard. He told me and my brother, David, to NOT play in, on, or around the framework he was building. So, of course, being normal children, we did! Well, I ended up falling down on the frame and smacking my nose, which started bleeding profusely. David hollered to Dad and he said for David to take me to the house and take care of it. So, we started running to the house (which is not the best thing to do when one is bleeding) and I remember the world started to spin and just when I was going to "lights out"... I remember being magically lifted up and seeing my Daddy's worried face as he ran to the house with me in his arms... then I passed out. There's been so many times in my life that he "scooped me up" just before I was going to fall flat on my face.

When I got my job with the US Marshals Service as a Deputy in 1988, Dad was so proud and told everyone in town who would listen that I had gotten that job. When the time came to move to Los Angeles, I rented a U-haul truck with a hitch for my car and commenced to preparing to leave. Of course, Dad couldn't stand the thought of me driving alone and trying to find a place to live, so, of course, he went with me! I was glad he did, we had a great adventure on the way to Los Angeles and getting around in Los Angeles!

In 1994, when I came back home, I moved back out to the farm with Dad temporarily. I didn't have a Government car to drive, so I would drive to Estacada and then take the bus to downtown Portland. EVERY night, when I would come home on the bus, Dad would be waiting in his car so he could drive me the 3 or 4 blocks in the dark to my car. "Daddy", I said, "I carry a gun, I'm not afraid to walk to my car!" "Yes, I know you do", he said to me. "But I will still be here so you won't have to make that walk in the dark, it's not safe for a woman to do that". (How cute is that?)

Of course, being the "girl child" and the youngest had its advantages, but it also had it's disadvantages. I know that any disciplinary action taken on me was much less than was given to my older brother - the "boy child". I got away with more things than David ever did and did it with relative ease! I suppose I should feel bad about that, but I just can't bring myself to feel any remorse about it! After all, it wasn't like I didn't have to "pay" for my wrongdoings or do extra chores if I wanted to go somewhere! It was just my luck that I was born last, cute, and female! ha ha

But, I also had to live in the shadow of my older brother. The brain, Mr. Neat and Tidy, the BOY CHILD and firstborn. That wasn't an easy plate to fill, I might add. So,instead of trying to compete in that arena, I chose to have fun and have some life adventures (ummm.. that would mean get in trouble, tee hee), David chose to study hard, get straight A's in school and go on to get a Phd in Chemical Engineering. By birthright and through lots of hard work, David had secured his position as Numero Uno. I always hated that when I would tell Dad something, he would have to hear the same thing from David before he would believe it. But, I'm ok with it and learned to live with it even though I thought it was annoying as could be! It's not that Dad wasn't as proud of me as he was of David, but, I was still JUST "the Girl Child"! ha ha

I also remember when I was young that I always referred to my brother as "MY David", I followed him around like a puppy dog. Dad, apparently, got a big kick out of that because he never let me forget it! ha ha

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