Donald Laddie Gates Jr. was the oldest child of Donald and Mabel Gates. He was born July 1, 1940 in Rochester, Minnesota.

He graduated from Kenyon High school in 1958.

On October 13. 1959, he married Janice Hoidahl at Biloxi, Mississippi. They had four children. He served almost five years with the US Air Force between 1962 and 1967, serving in Vietnam. They lived in Madison, Wisconsin, New York, Montgomery, Alabama, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and finally Kenyon, Minnesota.

Following his military service he joined IBM as a systems engineer for 24 years, then started Gates and Associates.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing and spending time with family and friends.    - Faribault Daily News (MN) - Saturday, June 3, 2006

 Donald died on May 30, 2006, a few months before his mother died. Janice died July 21, 2017 at the age of 76.