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Gus Bates Jr., founder of Gus Bates Insurance & Investments, died Aug. 4, 2024, at the age of 81. (Courtesy photo | The Bates family)
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Gus Bates, founder of Gus Bates Insurance & Investments, made a big impact on his community, both on and off the field.

The Fort Worth community leader died Aug. 4 at the age of 81, his family announced this week. 

At Paschal High School, Bates played football and baseball and was elected class president. Serving with distinction was a trait he would continue his whole life, said his son, Gus Stewart Bates. 

Off the field, Bates founded an insurance agency with his son and grew it into a highly regarded firm. In 2020, it was acquired by Chicago-based HUB International, one of the largest insurance brokers in the world.

Bates was a big supporter of his two alma maters: Paschal High School and Texas Christian University, where he graduated with a pre-med degree in 1966.

At Paschal, he played on the football team only sporadically, but had spent many hours practicing with his father. He was fourth-team quarterback, according to a story about him then in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

At a district game against Dallas’ Samuell High School, Paschal was losing, 12-6, with only a few minutes left. Coach Bill Allen decided to put in Bates. Bates won the game and was carried off the field by his teammates. Bates said he felt as if all those years practicing with his father, who was killed in a car accident earlier that year, had made the difference.

Allen was quoted as saying this about Bates: “Gus isn’t big. He isn’t fast. … In fact, he probably can’t outrun anyone. But he is the hardest-working boy on the team and the most conscientious player we have.”

The same could have been said about Bates all his life, his son said.

“Integrity, honesty were the staples of his existence,” Gus Stewart Bates said. “He never so much as stole a piece of bubble gum. He just always did the right thing.”

Bates had graduated planning to attend medical school, but had been impressed with the fact that the life insurance his father purchased helped take care of the family after his death. That encouraged Bates to enter the insurance business.

“He loved people and he loved talking to people, and that’s how he did it,” his son said. 

He pretty quickly became one of John Hancock’s top agents.

Bates met Sheryl Stewart at TCU, and they married in December 1965. 

“We’ve been married for almost 59 years,” she said. “I’ve loved every minute of it.” 

After playing baseball at TCU, Bates continued to coach youth sports for years.

“My dad coached over 2,000 kids in his lifetime,” his son said. 

One of those kids was his son.

“Football, baseball, soccer, any sport that I played, he coached,” Gus Stewart Bates said. “I never had another coach, and we never lost any games from second grade to sixth grade.”

It was his dad’s coaching that made the difference, his son said.

“We weren’t the most decorated athletes, but he just poured his energies into working with kids,” he said.

Gus Stewart Bates said he has heard from many of the kids his dad coached since his passing. He emphasized teamwork and persistence with his players. 

“They called him ‘Pops’ or ‘Coach Bates,’ but they never forgot him,” he said. “Dad just touched so many lives.”

The senior Bates also continued playing sports himself, especially enjoying flag football. In 1994, he was inducted into the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation Hall of Fame.

Bates volunteered his time to numerous organizations. He served as a board member for the Epilepsy Foundation Texas, Boys & Girls Clubs and American Cancer Society as well as president of the Youth Sports Council. As chairman of the board for the Fort Worth Easter Seals, he played a pivotal role in merging the Dallas and Fort Worth offices.

“Gus Bates was a special kind of person because his heart was always with kids and the community,” said Daphne Barlow Stigliano, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County. “He shared that caring spirit with others around him. It was just in his nature. He will be missed.”

Bates and his son also helped establish The Gus Bates Center at Paschal High School, an athletic facility on the campus.

Bates was well-known for sharing his “Gus-isms” with friends, family and co-workers. Phrases like “Give, give and get,” “You can’t hit the ball with the bat on your shoulder,” “Leave everything in life better than you found it” and “Don’t tell me how much you know, show me how much you care,” were sayings he used all his life in business and coaching.

“Gus was a pillar of the Fort Worth business community, exemplifying philanthropy and compassion,” said Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. “He demonstrated his care daily, setting a standard we can all aspire to. Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and everyone who benefited from his wisdom and kindness.”

A memorial service celebrating Gus Bates’ life will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 9, in the Sanctuary at Christ Chapel Bible Church, 3701 Birchman Ave. A reception will follow the service at the Legends Club at TCU. He will be laid to rest privately next to his parents in Greenwood Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests expressions of sympathy be made through donations to the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, , or to the ACH Child and Family Services.

Read his obituary here.

Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.