Faith and Farewells

Drawing from his unshakable religious faith, the father of murder victim Steven David Bates said Monday that he looks forward to the day when the two of them will again hike in the Rocky Mountains that lured his son to Colorado and an untimely death.

Richard D. Bates struggled to maintain his composure as he remembered his only son and the young man’s love for the majestic Rockies at a packed memorial service. Bates, a biology professor at Rancho Santiago College, compared Steven’s death to the grayness of a Rocky Mountain winter.

“In a few weeks, the cold and bleakness of winter will descend on the mountains,” Bates said. “The bleakness and cold of his death will [also] be with us.”

But just as spring follows winter, Bates said that “someday Steve and I, hand-in-hand, will be at the Rocky Mountains.”

Family and friends are still looking for reasons why Bates and two other men--all lifelong friends and 20 years old--were killed execution-style last week by a troubled teenager whom they had taken in 13 days earlier out of kindness and friendship.

John Anthony Lara III, Joshua Turville and Bates had known one another since the fourth grade and attended El Modena High School together. The three had moved to Bayfield, Colo., where authorities said they were murdered by Joseph Gallegos, 18, who was later killed by police.

But the reasons for the deaths probably will never be known, said the elder Bates, except that Steven and his friends “were at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The service here at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was full of hope and remembrance of the younger Bates, and how his life revolved around basketball and the outdoors.

Mourners came to offer support to Bates’ family, including his mother, Anita, who is a special education teacher, and his two older sisters, Cathy Orme and Cindy Hall.

John Maxfield, Bates’ uncle, said his nephew developed a love of the outdoors almost as soon as he was born. The young man’s mother and father, both avid hikers and backpackers, saw to that, Maxfield said.

Maxfield recalled Richard Bates’ excitement upon the birth of his son. As he waited to see him for the first time, Richard Bates exclaimed, “They’ve cleaned up my son, now they’re measuring him for his backpack,” Maxfield said in his eulogy.

Maxfield also alluded to Steven Bates’ minor brush with the law and his effort to find a purpose in life. The young man was beginning to learn about himself in Colorado, Maxfield said.

“Colorado was very significant in Steven’s life. It was the place he liked to be when he tried to answer the hard questions,” Maxfield said. “It was [also] here in Colorado that his life ended in tragic abruptness.”

Friends and family said that Bates found a tranquillity in the mountains of Colorado that contributed to his evolving maturity. He planned to enroll in college and marry his 20-year-old fiancee, Leigha Campbell, next year.

As tragic and senseless as their son’s death was, Richard Bates said, family members have forgiven Gallegos for killing their son. At Monday’s memorial service, Bates offered his family’s sympathy to Gallegos’ family.

Steve D. Hanson, president of the Mormon Church’s Orange Stake, said that the Bateses, while heartbroken, were nevertheless at peace over their son’s death. Hanson had rushed to the family’s side last Tuesday upon hearing of their loss.

“There was obvious emotion and sorrow over this horrible shock,” but the family also displayed “unmistakable peace,” Hanson said. He said that he, too, was unable to provide the family with answers about their son’s death.

The family has established a memorial fund in Steven’s name to fight the disease. Contributions can be made to the Steven D. Bates Memorial Fund, Inherited High Cholesterol Foundation, 410 Chipeta Way, Room 161, Salt Lake City, UT 84108.