An inspiring role model, trusted advisor, and loyal friend

en route to Japan when it surrendered. He spent a year in war-torn Tokyo, which provided him with one of his first opportunities to consider our shared humanity and its ability to unite people regardless of their backgrounds.

Gates returned to the UW to earn an undergraduate degree in 1949 and a law degree the next year. During that time, he gained a lifelong passion for the Husky Nation and met his first wife, Mary Maxwell. Bill and Mary raised two daughters and a son and developed a shared sense of civic duty. Volunteering and philanthropy were