BLYTHEWOOD: Walter (Wally) Raymond Cates II, 60, of Blythewood, passed away early in the morning on June 22, 2012 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born July 7, 1951 to Walter Raymond Cates and Regina Lowery Cates. Wally was a 1969 Dentsville High School graduate, and was a successful Realtor in Columbia. He loved tennis, camping, off-roading in his Jeep, his weekly meals at The Villa Tronco and rooting for his Gamecocks.
Wally is survived by his wife, Pamela Riley Cates; his children, Gina Cates Rieger and Abby Riley Cates; his son-in-law, the Rev. Joshua Rieger; his two grandchildren, Jackson Hall Rieger and Riley Cates Rieger; his in-laws, the Rev. Clyde Riley and Vera Riley; his sisters, Beverly C. Harmon, Donna C. Cohee and Laurie C. Kay; his sister-in-law, Sandra Lawson; and brother-in-law, Chuck Lawson; his nephews, Jeff Romig and Bryan Romig and their wives Kacy Romig and Beth Romig; niece, Angela Akey and her husband, Jason Akey; nephew, Mark Cohee and his wife, Rachel Cohee; nephew, Adam Cohee; nieces, Shelley Kay, Jennifer Kay and Sherri Harmon; nephews, Joe Harmon Jr. and John William Kay and his wife, Stephanie Kay; as well as his church family at North Trenholm Baptist Church, where he had been an active member since 1973. Wally is preceded in death by his parents and his brother-in-law, Steven Romig. Wally will be missed by all those whose lives he touched. The Cates family would like to thank Dr. Steve Madden and nurses Paula Cox, Marie Maltz and Kim Branham at Lexington Oncology as well as nurses Ashley White and Jenny Lindler on the 8th floor of the Lexington Medical Center for their tender compassion and kindness during the duration of Wally’s illness. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the Cates family requests that memorials in honor of Wally be sent to Mission to the World, Account No. 16644, P.O. Box 116284, Atlanta, Ga. 30368-6284 or visit https://donations.mtw.org/donate/AddDesignation.aspx?No=16644.
A memorial service was held 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at North Trenholm Baptist Church, 6515 N. Trenholm Road, Columbia. Burial was held at 2:30 p.m. at Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens. The family received friends at North Trenholm following the service.