https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/obituaries/bill-gates-sr-civic-figure-and-father-of-microsoft-co-founder-dies-at-94/
Bill Gates Sr., civic leader and father of Microsoft co-founder, dies at 94
William Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and a towering figure in civic life
as well as local and global philanthropy, has died at 94, the family said Tuesday. He died Monday
at his beach home on Hood Canal, from Alzheimer’s disease.
Gates was a prominent Seattle attorney and the founding partner of one of the region’s best-known
law firms, as well as a leading figure in civic and social causes. But it was his son’s revolutionary success
in the tech field that made the name “Bill Gates” known the world over. And it launched an entirely
different path for the elder Gates when he was nearly 70.
That’s when he became one of the guiding forces behind the William H. Gates Foundation — which
later became the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, after his son and daughter-in-law. It is one of the
largest private foundations in the world, and has taken a leading role in addressing some of the
planet’s biggest challenges, including reducing infant mortality, stamping out polio, and finding an
AIDS vaccine.