Arlen Lee Gates, 62, died July 19, 2014 at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center. He was born December 21, 1951 in St. Francis, KS, the son of Lester and Melba Osborne Gates. He was a graduate of Beloit High School. He was a member of the Beloit Fire Department and Mitchell County EMS, where he served as an EMT, paramedic, and director. A resident of Hutchinson the last 14 years, he owned Gates Floor Covering Inc. He was a member of the Moose Lodge and the NRA. He was also a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. He married Velda Unrein on September 14, 2001 in South Hutchinson. She survives.
Other survivors include a son, Joseph Gates (Melissa), Salina, a daughter, Renee Thompson (Wes), Beloit, 2 step-daughters, Miranda Garcia (Earl), Hutchinson and Lyndel Theis (Russ), Pratt, a step-son, Lance Rhodes, Great Bend, a brother, Elton Gates, Garden Plain, a sister, LaDonna Snyder, Goodland, and 11 grandchildren, Matthew, Jaelyn, Maryn, Brittney, Austin, Sierra, Jerod, Brooke, Travis, Kami, and Jaycie.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Darrell Gates.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM Wednesday at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home and Crematory, Hutchinson, with Father Ned Blick presiding. Cremation will follow the service and a private family inurnment will take place at a later date in Beloit, Kansas. Visitation will be held from 9AM to 9PM Tuesday, with the family present from 6-8PM that evening, all at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Stevens Johnson Syndrome Foundation, in care of the funeral home.