Jerry W. Gates

Jerry W. Gates, local real estate developer, quietly passed away March 18, 2013 at Indiana University Health Hospice House in Bloomington, Indiana. Born August 1, 1934 in Keokee, Virginia and raised in Pennington Gap, Virginia, Jerry was the son of W. Scott and Carrie (Myers) Gates. After graduating from Noblesville High School in 1952, he served in the United States Army from 1957-1959. He attended Indiana University on a baseball scholarship and also played football for the Hoosiers, graduating in 1961. While earning his BA in Physical Education, he and a friend, Bob Reinhart, began what was to be the first of many business ventures, Bounce About-purchasing and renting jumping time on trampolines. Upon graduation, Jerry had tryouts with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds, before becoming a residential realtor and insurance salesman with Ben Terrill Real Estate. Upon Ben's death, he purchased the firm and split the two into Gates Inc. Realtors and Developers Inc. and Gates Insurance Inc. In the 1970's, he developed the residential neighborhood, Stier Park, but began to migrate away from residential real estate into commercial real estate development, beginning with Seminary Square (the downtown Kroger store) in 1975. In the early years, he also developed 10th and the Bypass Shopping Center with Don Mitchell and the Bloomington Industrial Park with Dave Hinkle. Over the years, along with his son Whitney, and at various times his stepson Christopher, he developed Curry Industrial Park, Franklin Business Park, Danville Shopping Center, and the accomplishment of which he was most proud, Whitehall Crossing Shopping Center. As excited as he was about the thrill of the deal, Jerry was equally as passionate about his love of Indiana University, especially the IU sports. He was a generous and avid supporter of Hoosier football, basketball, and baseball, often traveling around the country to support the Cream & Crimson. Along with his second wife, Susan, he endowed the Jerry and Susan Gates Baseball Scholarship. He had served as president of the I-Men's Association, was a longtime member of the Varsity Club and the IU Alumni Association, and was a ZG Clevenger Award winner in 1996. Jerry was a longtime member of First Christian Church in Bloomington and had for the past few several years had been attending Sherwood Oaks Christian Church. Jerry was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Roberta Ellen (Carney) Gates, Whitney's mother. He is survived by his wife Susan Kay (Erne) Gates of Bloomington; son Whitney (and Cheryl) Gates of Bloomington and their children Jonathan, Jacob, and Molly; stepson Christopher (and Elizabeth) Smith of Bloomington and their children Lucy and Maxwell; stepson Robert (and Cheryl) McCullumsmith of Birmingham, Alabama and their children Alexander, Eleanor, Dagny, Samuel and Calvin ; sister Elizabeth Higginbotham of Noblesville; brother Dennis (and Donna) Gates of Muncie, Indiana, and several nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews. A visitation will be held at Allen Funeral Home, 4155 S. Old State Road 37, Bloomington, IN on Friday from 7 PM to 9PM. Funeral services will be held at on Saturday at 1 PM at Sherwood Oaks Christian Church, 2700 E. Rogers Road in Bloomington. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made in Jerry's name to the IU Foundation to benefit the IU Baseball Scholarship Fund. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.allenfuneralhome.org.

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Jerry W. Gates

August 1, 1934 - March 18, 2013