Dave was born on April 3, 1931 in Kalispell, Montana, the second of ten children of Leon and Violet (McPheeters) Yates. Dave lived a life of practical, reliable, good-humored and steadfast service to his family, community, and the world. Dave was a convinced Friend – he was raised as a member of the Disciples of Christ and first exposed to Quakers through his spouse, Dolly Glenn, whose maternal grandparents were Quakers in Ohio and then Oklahoma.
His family farmed in Montana until moving to Spokane in the early 1940's, where Dave attended Lewis & Clark High School, graduating in 1948. The Yates family then moved to Pullman where Dave attended Washington State College (WSC) and met Dolly. Dave and Dolly were married on February 23, 1951, just before he entered the Army during the Korean War. Dave had enlisted in the reserves while in college and was called up. He served briefly in the Quartermaster Office with a typewriter and left as soon as he was able. He described himself, in his typical self-deprecating manner, as “a semi-conscientious objector”.
Dave returned to WSC where he earned a Civil Engineering degree and with Dolly started their family – which grew to five children. It was in Pullman that he and Dolly first attended the Pullman, WA Preparatory Meeting. While they liked the meetings, and particularly liked the part of not having someone give a sermon, the Meeting did not have childcare so they attended the Presbyterian Church, which did.
He began working for the Washington State Department of Highways (later the Department of Transportation) in Wenatchee in 1953, moving to Seattle in 1958 and finally to Lacey in 1966. Dave retired from WSDOT in 1982 and subsequently worked for several consulting engineering firms.
Dave and Dolly started attending the Olympia Monthly Meeting in the 1980’s at the suggestion of a friend when the church they had been attending lost their interest. At that time OMM was meeting in the Olympia YWCA. They liked the people, the worship, and the varieties of perspectives and ages. Dave (and Dolly) became members in 1993. They were faithful participants in Business Meeting, with Dave often providing practical perspectives and humorous stories. Dave was a long-time member of the Upkeep Committee and was particularly helpful when OMM moved from YWCA to its first Meetinghouse in Tumwater. Their annual ice cream social for the Meeting at their home on Hicks Lake was a fixture on the Meeting’s social calendar.
Dave lived a life of faith and service. Dolly and their extended family were at the center of his life. They regularly hosted large family get-togethers at their home on Hicks Lake and Yates family news was a staple of after meeting announcements.
Dave was very active in Scouting, serving for over 60 years as a leader in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Explorer Search and Rescue. With the Boy Scouts, he led many hikes in the Cascades and Olympics as well as canoe trips on Puget Sound and in British Columbia. Dave was an avid camper and hiker, and shared that love with family, friends and scouts. He was especially proud of the number of hikes he had completed in and around Mt. Rainier National Park.
Dave was also active in the North Thurston Kiwanis Club, served as Thurston County Search and Rescue coordinator for several years. After retirement Dave and Dolly volunteered in the education programs at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge (now the Billy Frank Refuge) and the Nisqually Reach Nature Center.
He and Dolly traveled to many places in North America and around the world, visiting every continent except Antarctica. Over the years, he and Dolly also hosted exchange students from China, India, Korea, Japan and Mexico.
Dave is survived by Dolly, his wife of 66 years, eight brothers and sisters, and four children, eight grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. Dave Yates’ Celebration of Life on April 22nd filled the Meetinghouse with family, friends, co-workers, Members of meeting, colleagues, joy, laughter and countless stories of how Dave’s patience, humor, generosity and commitment to community.