Thomas Hobson Bates, Jr.
June 25, 1927 - November 29, 2018
Thomas Hobson Bates, Jr., was born to Daisy Belle Payne Bates and Thomas Hobson Bates in Los Angeles, CA, 91 years ago; and passed into rest in Petaluma, CA, on November 29, 2018.
Thomas was a self-made man who was loved, admired, and respected by all who knew him. He left high school at 15 to help care for his family, working multiple jobs, including on the railroad and in the shipyards at San Pedro. At 17 he joined the US Navy as an Aviation Radioman 3rd class and served as a tail gunner off the coast of Florida until his honorable discharge in 1946. While in the Navy he earned his GED, which began his pursuit of higher education.
Thomas earned his BA in Philosophy from USC; his MBA from San Francisco State, where he first began teaching while still a student there; and his PhD in Business from UC Berkeley. He remained a beloved professor of World Business at SF State until his retirement in 1996, when he was awarded the title Professor Emeritus. Thomas was also designated a member of the National Defense Executive Reserve by the US Secretary of Commerce.
Thomas met and married the love of his life, Luise, in San Francisco in 1953, knowing at first sight that they would be together forever, and so they have been for the past 66 years.
Thomas is survived by his loving wife Luise Graalfs Bates of Petaluma; brother Robert Spencer Bates of Woodway, Texas; daughter Sylvia Bates Christiansen Smith of Merced; son Gregory Thomas Bates (Saira) of Napa; grandchildren Jenna (Joshua), Steven (Crystal), Timothy (Melissa), Nicholas, Jennifer, Chanda (Nate), Sabina, Uma, and five great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents Daisy Payne Bates and Thomas Hobson Bates, Sr.; and sister Shirley Bates Wright (Harold, deceased).
A private celebration of Thomas’s life will be held at a later date. Those who wish to contribute in Thomas’s name may give to USC Dornsife at https://dornsife.usc.edu/ make-a-gift/; San Francisco State University at https:// develop.sfsu.edu/makeagift; or UC, Berkeley, at https:// give.berkeley.edu/.