September 4, 1957 - January 28, 2025
In loving memory ~
Ross Taylor BATES
BSc, MSc, PhD
Ross Taylor Bates BSc, MSc, PhD, passed away peacefully on January 28, 2025, at the age of 67, after a multi-year battle with cancer. He died in Talarico Place in Castlegar BC in the company of one of his many friends who had taken turns staying with him around the clock near the end. Born on September 4, 1957, in London, Ontario, Ross was an educator, an outdoor enthusiast, an avid bridge player, and a friend to many. He will be missed by his partner of over thirty years, Dorothy "Dot" Dore (née Kitsch), her son, and her three granddaughters, as well as his brother Gordon, sister Linda, nieces Alison, Christina, and Elisa, along with five grandnephews and a grandniece. He was predeceased by his father Fred and mother Jan.
The youngest of three children, Ross grew up in London, Ontario where he obtained his Honours BSc degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University). Ross moved to Vancouver in 1980 to attend the University of British Columbia where he completed his MSc and PhD degrees in the field of theoretical physics while at the same time falling in love with the mountains and the beautiful outdoors found on the West Coast.
After graduating from UBC, Ross worked as a Defense Scientist in the Directorate of Logistics Analysis in Ottawa from 1986 - 1988 before returning to British Columbia and its mountains to enter academia. He taught in the Okanagan University College system based in Kelowna for six years which is where he met Dot at a bridge tournament. They moved to Kamloops BC for four years where Ross taught mathematics and physics at the University College of the Cariboo, before they settled in Castlegar BC to continue his teaching career as a tenured instructor at Selkirk College. Ross took pride in inspiring students to pursue advanced physics education. Ross also was renowned for the high academic standards he required of his students. Many a mathematics student developed a new appreciation for numbers while taking a course from Ross. In addition to his academic career at Selkirk College he served on the Board of Governors for the college, as a member of the Faculty Association Executive, and as a member of the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators Pension Advisory Committee. Ross retired from Selkirk College in 2013.
In addition to his strong commitment to education in the classroom and to the governance of the institutions of which he was a part, he volunteered his time on numerous community boards including the UBC Varsity Outdoor Club, the Kamloops Outdoor Club, the Kootenay Mountaineering Club, as well as serving as both a board member and an active volunteer in the Castlegar Search and Rescue organization. Let us also not forget Ross' passion for bridge - he was a Gold Life Master with over 3200 points and travelled with Dot to tournaments all over Canada and the northwestern United States. He was a certified bridge instructor and he helped many people with their bridge, and together with Dot made many, many friends.
It was Ross' wish that his cremated remains be scattered in the places that he loved. Arrangements will be made for this event in the future, and friends and colleagues will be notified closer to the time.
When one passes, that person remains with us in the memories of events past of those who shared them. In this spirit, the following remembrances of Ross are presented to honour him.
Peter - Kootenay Mountaineering Club
Ross was an active member of the Kootenay Mountaineering Club for many years and was Treasurer of the club for about five years. He organized numerous hikes, bike and ski trips in our area, and was known for his fine bushwhacking skills. He was a very organized and popular leader. How he knew his way around the bush was a mystery because he did not use a GPS and rarely consulted a map.
Ross played snooker with Chris and I every week, until he could barely walk down the stairs and had to quit. Our last game together was December 19, 2024. Ross was very thankful for the small things we could do for him while at the Talarico Place care home. He was always very polite and faced his illness with great courage and dignity.
I miss him a lot.
Chris - Kootenay Mountaineering Club
I've been friends with Ross since I arrived in Castlegar in 2012. Looking back on a dozen years, I've been a participant in many adventures with Ross, often on club hikes which he led very often going to little known and interesting spots. Often you didn't really know how the day was going to go but it was always an adventure; some were arduous at times but very entertaining in retrospect. I developed a quite intimate acquaintance with various boulder fields and thick bush in the Columbia Valley, on the McNally traverse and on the Oasis circuit hikes, routes known almost uniquely to Ross. We often went farther afield too, notably trips to Mount Vingolf and Mount Ferrie. A spring ski adventure up to "60s ski movie" on the 7 summits trail, in +20C degree weather led to my falling into a hole and getting pulled out by Ross, followed by his doing the same thing. "Your turn next" he said humorously, and I promptly resorted to putting my ski climbing skins on for the rest of the descent. Ross talked about skiing the spring slush on the south slope of Grassy Mountain, which we duly set out to do. I ended up breaking my ankle on that trip and if it wasn't for Ross' quick action to that mishap it very likely would have been a lot worse. As luck would have it, I was due for a house move a week after the ankle break, and Ross and a few other KMCers took care of moving my stuff while I looked on and directed things from a chair. The following year Ross, who had always been a telemark skier, bought a new set of alpine touring skis and some fun times were had when his first efforts involved trying to telemark on them. He decided to get a couple of lessons and got the hang of it.
Ross was one of the smartest people I've known: from theoretical physics to the financial system to the intricacies of city business, to bridge "the only real card game" he had a great depth of understanding, a cool head and a charming low-key humour about the various foibles of us humans.
We'll miss him.
Larry - Kootenay Mountaineering Club
Felicia and I arrived back at camp at 8:00 pm, to find Ross waiting for our return, staring north in the direction of our morning departure. Unplanned, we had climbed above Thunderwater Lake and returned from the south via the Catamount Glacier. We were all relieved, but Ross was cute, anxiously awaiting his flock to return.
Llewellyn - Castlegar Search and Rescue
Ross joined Castlegar Search and Rescue (CSAR) after he retired from Selkirk College as way to use his formidable outdoor skills and intimate knowledge of the local backcountry to give back to the community. He quickly became a valued member of the team, working his way up to a Team Leader position. He also took on a leadership role with the Society becoming a Director on the Board. He served as Treasurer for a number of years putting in countless hours to keep CSAR on a sound financial footing.
His dedication will be missed.
Hugh - Trail Duplicate Bridge Club
Ross delighted in playing bridge and was a credit to the game. He was superbly talented and never lost his creativity. His intellect served him well in resolving the complexity of the game. He accurately assessed the cards he held, and he drew reliable assessments of the strengths and weakness of other player's holdings from their bids and plays. His partners could expect success if they kept their seatbelts fastened and their thinking caps on. Ross was always polite. He showed no need to embellish his reputation by boasting, or by belittling others. He was the bridge player we all should aspire to become.
He is greatly missed and will be fondly remembered.
Normand - A friend and fellow outdoors enthusiast for some 45 years
I met Ross in September of 1980 at UBC as we were both starting graduate school in Physics. I remember thinking that he seemed pretty smart if perhaps a bit weird. But after a few months, I knew that he was indeed extremely smart, but still a bit weird. Somehow though, I liked him immediately, and little did I know that this was the beginning of a friendship that would last almost 45 years, and that our lives would intersect in so many different ways. Early on Ross and I discovered a love for the outdoors. We joined UBC's Varsity Outdoor Club and for the next six years went on numerous hiking and skiing trips together, almost every weekend. After a long strenuous weekend, Ross was famous for descending the four flights of stairs from his office in the Physics building, facing backward, to stretch his calf muscles. No one could deny that the method was probably effective, but still... After nearly six years in the Varsity Outdoor club, Ross would remain a poor backcountry skier, but we all admired his tenacity and enthusiasm.
Eventually we would both be forced to graduate, and Ross and I went our separate ways. Ross took a position as a researcher for the Department of National Defense in Ottawa, and I took a similar one in Quebec City. We kept in regular contact, and over time, hatched a plan to return to BC. The plan was simple enough: Quit our jobs and look for work in BC. It worked. Ross found a teaching job at Cariboo College in Kamloops and I found work in Vancouver.
For the next several years we would go on a trip together in the late spring early summer. Ross would come up with a location and organise everything. I just had to be ready and he would pick me up at my house now in Chilliwack. We went everywhere: Nootka Island, Tweedsmuir, Cape Scott, Trophy Mountain, etc. At this point I was now married, with three kids, and had an extremely busy family life. Yet my wife Denise would always agree to see me disappear for a couple of weeks. She understood the importance of our friendship. And our kids loved Ross in all his generosity and strangeness - Mom! Look! Ross eats burgers with nothing in it!
In another strange twist of life, ours would intersect again. I ended up taking a teaching position at Cariboo College (now Thompson Rivers University), an institution where Ross had worked years earlier, while he in turn would go on to Selkirk College. Now both of us teachers, we would spend hours over the phone laughing at the absurdities of our respective positions, and planning our next trips.
Teaching at Selkirk College and living in Castlegar would be the best thing to happen to Ross since our heydays at UBC. He fell in love with the region and the people he met there. He embraced everything from teaching, playing bridge, hiking, skiing. And by now, I was the one showing up at his doorstep, ready to go on a trip. Thanks to him, I fell in love with the region as well.
Ross was been my best friend for the past 45 years and I will miss him very much. I will miss his generosity, his quirky sense of humour, his simplicity and humility, his acceptance.
Take care my friend.
To leave a personal note of condolence, please go to www.castlegarfuneral.com.
Castlegar Funeral Chapel
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