Henry Cecil Gates

Funeral Services Celebrating the Life of Henry Cecil Gates (SMSgt)(Retired), 96, of Monroe, LA will be held at 2:00 P.M. Thursday, December 21, 2017 in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home West Monroe, LA with Rev. Gordon “Skip” Dean officiating. Interment with Military Honors will follow at Cross Roads Cemetery in Union Parish, LA.

Mr. Gates was born on May 8, 1921 in Point, LA and passed away at the Northeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Monroe, LA on December 18, 2017. He served in the United States Air Force for 22 years, serving as a Tail Gunner during WWII. He was shot down in 1943 and became a Prisoner of War for 18 months being liberated in May 1945. He also served during the Korean Conflict. After retiring from the Air Force he worked for 13 years with the United States Postal Service in Apopka, FL. After retiring from the post office he moved back to the Monroe Area. He was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, American Ex-POW Association, the 351st Bomb Association, DAV and the 8th Airforce Historical Society. Mr. Gates is preceded in death by his parents, Elisha Benjamin and Eva Helen Antley Gates; his wife of 62 years, Joan Gates; 2 brothers, Julius Gates and Elton “Mutt” Gates; and 2 sisters, Bessie Tidwell and Dorothy Parks Dodd.

Survivors include his children, Helen Gates, David Gates and Christine Reppond and husband, Ricky; 2 grandchildren, Allison Reppond and Jordan Reppond; 2 sisters, Mary Esther Trout and Lucille Hollis; sister-in-law, Joyce Skivington; along with numerous nieces, and nephews.

Visitation will be held from 4:00P.M. until 7:00 P.M. Wednesday, December 20, 2017 and from 1:00 P.M. until Service Time on Thursday at Mulhearn Funeral Home West Monroe, LA.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Online Registry/ Condolences: www.mulhearnfuneralhome.com