René was born on July 10, 1942 in his family’s home to Fred E. Bates and Ruth Katherine (Gunter) Bates in New Hope, Texas. Seventy-seven years later, he passed away peacefully at his home in McKinney, only 10 miles from where he was born, but worlds apart in so many ways. René lived a life that most of us can only imagine. The son of a sharecropper, he came of age under harsh circumstances usually only found in books and movies. Growing up in rural Texas in the 1940s was not an easy life. His stories of picking cotton alongside his father (and getting in trouble for loading his sacks with stones), of trips to town in a buggy, and barely having the means to get by, helped to define his strong work ethic, deep sense of ambition and drive to succeed. When his family relocated to Arlington in the mid-50s, René knew that living in a city was not for him, but neither was being poor. He was a graduate of Arlington High School. René was the first in his family to go to college and earned his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Education from East Texas State University in Commerce. He married Sheryl Lynn Darcey on July 10, 2002 in McKinney, Texas. René was a lifelong member of Rhea’s Mill Baptist Church in McKinney, Texas. He was also an ordained minister.
Among the many hats he wore, René was a schoolteacher, a rodeo clown, pick-up man and producer, a cowboy-for-hire, a ranch manager, and general rabble-rouser. He piloted, then crashed and walked away from an airplane that he had no license to fly (as the FAA noted in their resulting Cease and Desist letter). He briefly took up skydiving, and he hasn’t been legally allowed to enter Mexico since the mid-70’s for reasons he’d rather us not disclose. He was a successful land broker, a rancher, and he raised Texas longhorns for well over 30 years.
And of course, he was an auctioneer.
He began his career by auctioning livestock in the mid-60’s, and officially established René Bates Auctioneers in 1966. He began calling on cities and counties to help assist in their disposal of surplus assets, a move that launched his company’s increasing success throughout the 70’s and 80’s. René Bates Auctioneers was an early adopter of internet sales, and in 1997 became the country’s first municipal online auction company while never losing the “boots on the ground” business practices that defined René Bates Auctioneers from the beginning.
René was a member of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; a lifetime member of the National Auctioneers Association; a member of the Texas Auctioneers Association. In 2011, he was formally inducted into the Texas Auctioneers Hall of Fame.
If you’ve ever been out to the house, you know he was more colorful than his kitchen, and that’s saying something. He was a larger-than-life husband, father, and friend, and his legacy will live on through the love of his family and the enduring success of his business. Texas has lost one of its last true cowboys, and he will be genuinely missed.
René is survived by his wife Sheryl Bates of McKinney, Texas; two daughters, Haley Renee Bates and Brad Rhoda of Fort Collins, Colorado and Michelle Renee Bates and Donovan Arwood of Dallas, Texas ; grandson, Duke Bates of Dallas, Texas; granddaughter, Maisie Rhoda of Fort Collins, Colorado; sister, Carol Ann Stanley and husband, Danny of Burleson, Texas; numerous other loving family members and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Katherine.
A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, March 7, 2020 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013.