Major Ralph Stoney Bates, Sr., USMC, ret.

Ralph Stoney Bates, SR., 86, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, passed away on November 24, 2024. Born in Anniston, Alabama on June 26, 1938 to the late Myrtle Magdalene Traywick and Hubert Melvin Bates, Stoney was pre-deceased by his cherished bride of sixty-four years, Marine wife Linda "Lyn" Bates. He is survived by his daughter, Deborah Bates (Vince Bambino).

Ralph Stoney "Stoney" held two degrees (with honors) from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He held a lifetime dedication to God and Country, as a youth Stoney joined the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the United States Air Force, and St. Michael's Episcopal Church where he served as an acolyte. Stoney enlisted in the US Marine Corps when he was seventeen years old; and rose through the ranks from enlisted to warrant, then officer, retiring as a Major after twenty-six years. After the Marine Corps, Stoney was the jail superintendent in Rochester, New York, and years later retired from the Broward County Sheriff's office in Florida.

Stoney held active memberships with numerous organizations and cultivated meaningful and warm friendships with people around the globe. He loved to travel and continued to visit and write about exotic destinations; before his death, he planned and booked a trip to Panama and Costa Rica. He was a member of St. Andrew's, an Anglican church in Mt. Pleasant.

A Vietnam war veteran, he was Always a Marine. Stoney was passionate about the Marine Corps and all other United States military service branches. He published numerous magazine articles and several books centered around his military service commitment and duty stations. He also wrote historical books about World War II and the Vietnam War. He honored our country and his fellow service members through generous donations to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, The Marine Corps League, The War Memorial and many other organizations. In his final years, he was delighted to be a dedicated volunteer at Patriots Point in Charleston.

Services for Ralph "Stoney" Bates will be announced as soon as they are confirmed by the family. Please continue to check the website for these details.

Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at mcalister-smith.com.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McAlister-Smith Funeral and Cremation, Mount Pleasant, 1520 Rifle Range Road, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464 (843) 884-3833.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven      - Ecclesiastes 3:1