Robert Towers Gates

Robert “Bob” Towers Gates died on July 25 in his home in Palm Springs, California. He was born on December 17, 1932 in Bolton, New York. He and his two sisters grew up on beautiful Lake George, NY.

Bob left college to enroll in the army and served as an MP in Germany in 1951. Four years later, he returned to study at Michigan State University through the GI Bill. In 1959 he was recruited by the CIA, and concurrently attended the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. Throughout his eight years in the CIA, Bob served as a deep cover agent in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.

After retiring from service in 1966, he joined Mark Winkler to run, manage, and expand Mark’s extensive real estate portfolio. In 1980, Bob founded his own company Gates, Hudson, and Associates, which he expanded to include more than three hundred employees. His company purveyed a vast and ever-changing portfolio of apartments, condos, shopping centers, and office buildings. Bob’s company is still successful today.

Bob retired in 1998 and fulfilled a dream to travel all seven continents and play the great golf courses of the world. A lifelong athlete, he was known as an avid skier, sailor, golfer, tennis and baseball player. Bob remained a sports enthusiast throughout his life. In addition, he was a voracious reader who, as a youngster, read the encyclopedia Brittanica cover to cover.

Bob will be remembered for the uniqueness of his wit, his unassailable sense of humor and his generosity of spirit. The legacy of his integrity and dignity as a businessman continues. In lieu of a service, Bob’s ashes will be scattered in both his birthplace, Lake George and longtime home, Aspen.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, his sister, Barbara Lawrence, four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by two of his children and one sister. The Gates family would like to thank Charter Hospice of the Desert for their kind and empathetic care.