Obituary of William Harold Cates

William Harold Cates passed away peacefully with complications from Dementia on April 15, 2020. For the past ten months he made his home at The Woodlands Memory care unit in Brewer. Bill was born in Waterville, Maine on November 26, 1948. He was predeceased by his parents, Benjamin and Edna (Winder) Cates . Bill is survived by his wife, Deborah (Cote) Cates, his daughters Amy Cates and Wendy and husband Chad Grenier; granddaughters Natalie Greene, Caitlin, Hailey, and Riley Grenier; step family Lance and Paula Cote and children Jacob and Madison. Siblings Robert, Richard, Gerry and wife Dianne, Nancy, Randy and wife Carol, and George Allan and many family members. Bill grew up in East Vassalboro with his large family and enjoyed working at his father’s store, Cates Country Store, and on the family farm as a kid. He attended Vassalboro schools, graduated from Waterville High School in 1967, and attended Wilmington College and from gradualed from UMA. He held a variety of computer technology jobs during his career with the area paper mills. He retired from Sappi Fine Paper in 2006 as a Business Systems Analyst. He then enjoyed working for the Winslow School system as a computer tech. Bill was an avid outdoorsman. He shared good times with Brian Church and Gene Haskell on their many fishing trips to the Moosehead area. He also enjoyed good friends Pat Berglund and Charlie Cabaniss and cousin Dennis Wyman . Bill was a long time active church member of the Pleasant Street United Methodist Church in Waterville, and especially loved singing in the choir. Contributions in his memory can be made to PSUMC 61 Pleasant Street, Waterville, ME 0490l. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.