Walter Anthony Bates

Walter “Wally” Anthony Bates, age 60 years, passed away at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee on Monday, September 6, 2021, from complications of his cancer diagnosis. 

Born January 1, 1961, in Providence, Rhode Island to parents, Herbert and Carol Bates. After graduating from Cumberland High School, he spent many more years in Rhode Island, where he met and married his wife Marcia in a small ceremony on June 20, 1998. They moved to Florida where they spent over twenty years before retiring to Knoxville, Tennessee. Wally was a business owner until he received his cancer diagnosis in 2019. 

 Wally was an avid sports fan, especially for his top three teams, the Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, and the Boston Bruins. He was somewhat of a beer connoisseur, having spent a lot of time at World of Beer racking up his reward points for the many different beers he tried. He loved motorcycles and could think of nothing more fun than riding his Harley Davidson with his wife with no destination in sight. 

 Wally was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert and Carol Bates. He leaves behind his wife Marcia Bates of Knoxville, Tennessee; son Timothy Bates and partner Ashley Leary of Kingstown, Rhode Island; daughter Amylynn Bates and partner Garrick Wann of Cranston, Rhode Island; step daughter Shannon Stan and husband Edgar Stan of Knoxville, Tennessee; step daughter Kelsey Stroud and partner William Carter of Virginia Beach, Virginia, granddaughter Kyndal Bates of West Warwick, Rhode Island; grandson Hunter Wann of Cranston, Rhode Island; granddaughters Arianna and Baylie Stan of Knoxville, Tennessee;  grandson William Knox Carter of Virginia Beach, Virginia; brother Paul Bates and wife Carol Bates of Sarasota, Florida; niece Kelly Mackall and husband Chris Mackall of Sarasota, Florida; and niece Lea Martin and husband Adam Martin of Sarasota, Florida. 

 A special thanks to Moffitt Cancer Center of Tampa, FL and Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center of Knoxville, TN for caring for him during his diagnosis and treatment. 

 A celebration of life will be held at a future date in Rhode Island so his loved ones can all be together. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that a donation be made to Moffitt Cancer Center of Tampa, FL in hopes to one day beat this terrible disease.

Gentry Griffey Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Bates family and invites you to view and sign the online registry.

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