William G. ‘Bill’ Yates, career Army officer

William G. “Bill” Yates, a career Army officer who had a second career in the defense industry, died July 23 from vascular disease at Senator Bob Hooper House, a Forest Hill hospice. He was 78. The son of Lyle Boone Yates, a salesman, and Charlotte Gardner Yates, William Gardener Yates was born in Elizabeth, N.J. His family moved when he was 3 months old to a home near Druid Hill Park, where he was raised.

He was a 1955 graduate of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and received a bachelor’s degree in 1974 from St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg.

He enlisted in the Army in 1958 and served in Vietnam. He completed tours of duty in Europe, Korea and the United States. He was senior aide-de-camp under the General Communication Zone in Europe.

The longtime Aberdeen resident was discharged in 1980 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1980 to 1997, he was a logistics program manager for AAI Corp. in Cockeysville.

From 1997 to 2012, when he retired, Mr. Yates was a senior defense acquisition specialist for Science International Corp. in Abingdon.

Mr. Yates was a member of the Society of Logistics Engineers, Association of the United States Army, National Association of Uniformed Services and the Military Officers Association of America.

While in the service, he financially supported overseas orphanages, family members said.

He also coached Little League and was a Boy Scout troop leader. He enjoyed entertaining family and friends.

Mr. Yates was a member of Grove Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen.

Plans for burial at Arlington National Cemetery are incomplete.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Suzanne Malcolm Cole; two sons, Marc Yates of Clarksville and Andrew Yates of Silver Spring; a daughter, Lesley Paige Baldwin of Silver Spring; two grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.