Nick Bates, 58, of Mitchell passed away on Sunday, January 5, 2025 at Avera McKenna Hospital in Sioux Falls. Funeral services will be at 1:30 PM Friday, January 17, 2025 at the Congregational Church UCC in Mitchell. Visitation will begin one hour prior.

Nick Clifford Bates was born January 23, 1966 to Bill and Joy (Mommer) Bates. He attended Longfellow school before graduating from Mitchell High School.

Nick met Joann in 2005; three years later he proposed and she accepted; becoming his loving wife. This union also gained him a son, Jesse. He was baptized in the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall on April 23, 2017. Nick held many jobs; including cleaning banks in Mitchell, working at Toshiba, a meat market and Performance Pet.

He had enjoyed several hobbies, playing the base guitar, drawing, and DnD gaming. Nick loved his pet cats, Pepper, Dusty, Nemo, Spirit, Horatio, and Ozzy.

Nick was a good and loving father and grandfather. He loved music and sci-fi movies, his outfits were formed around cargo pants and white beaters, finishing off with his favorite bucket hat. He never went a day where he wasn't a family man or without seeing his grandchildren. If you called him, he always answered. Nick never strayed from the truth. He would help when it was needed and watched when it wasn't.

Grateful for having shared his life is his wife, Joann, son, Jesse (Brittany) Milk III, grandchildren, Jesse Milk IV, Zeke Milk, Summer Eske-Dillerd, and Joseph Eske, mother, Joy Mommer, and sister, Jody Jamison.

He was preceded in death by his dad, Bill Bates.