Gates K. Agnew ’57

One of the well-known Agnew brothers at Princeton, Gates died Feb. 25, 2023, in Bloomington, Ind.

Coming to Princeton from the John Burroughs School in St. Louis, he majored in English in the S.P.H. Program. A member of Cap and Gown Club, Gates was active in intramural sports, a member of the Undergraduate Council, and president of the Student Christian Association. He roomed senior year with Hank Bessire, Wally Geoghegan, and Bill Glassco.

After graduation Gates joined many other classmates adjourning to a tropical island: teaching at the Punahou School in Hawaii. During this period, he married Patricia Nicoll, a Princeton resident and Wellesley graduate, whom he met during senior year. Gates returned to the mainland to attend Stanford, earning a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English. He became a full-time professor at Indiana University, earning tenure there. Changing career direction, he earned a master’s degree in social work at Indiana, and then worked as part of a team in psychiatric social work at the South Central Community Health Center. Eventually establishing a private practice in psychotherapy, he retired at age 63. He and his wife then traveled extensively.

Although Gates sang in an Episcopal Church choir, he and his wife also participated in Zen Buddhist meditation workshops and daily meditation and yoga exercises. 

Gates is survived by his wife, Pat; his four children, Emily, Elizabeth, Ken, and Andrew, and their families; brothers Bill ’56 and Hewes ’58; and his sister, Zanne.