Rex A. Gates

Rex Austin Gates was born on September 27, 1950, at the Galloway Hospital in Anthony, Kansas, son of Dale and Irene (Carothers) Gates.  As a young boy he was baptized in the Hopewell Presbyterian Church.  He attended Plainview Grade School and graduated from Anthony High School in 1968.  He attended college for a couple of years before returning home to help his dad with the family farm and ranch. 

Rex married his high school sweetheart, Janie Goertz, on June 5, 1970.  This union was blessed with children, Charlotte Marie and Jay Austin. 

Songwriter, poet, storyteller, and cowboy, were the things Rex was known for being.  He had a talent for making you laugh and cry in the same song or poem, writing close to 100 songs and poems throughout his life.  He honored many at funerals and performed at different events in several states, all in his admired cowboy way.  

Rex served his country in the Army National Guard and was a true American Patriotic.  He had the utmost respect for our Veterans and the American flag.  He honored Veterans through his song and poetry, sharing the most respectable words to memorialize the sacrifices made to protect our freedoms by our military men and women, the freedoms he knew came at the ultimate price for some.

Rex lived and breathed doing things the cowboy way. . .he saddled in the morning and unsaddled in the evening to tend to his cattle. Until just the past few years, he did not allow four-wheelers to help gather cattle.  He invented corrals on wheels.  

Rex was a man of God worshipped in his own cowboy way.  He expressed his love and faith to Jesus through poetry and song.  In his own words, "Every morning I would look out the window and thank God for everything he bestowed upon me. . .my family, my friends, and my great life.  I loved God's creations. . .sunrises, sunsets, the moon, the stars, good horses, baby calves, colts a few days old, puppy dogs, cattle grazing on the prairies of green.  I thank God for the beauty of this world and how things could change from a much needed rain to a pasture of green, the sun's silver lining which always gave me hope and faith for a new tomorrow, the glistening on the landscape from a heavy frost or that pure white snow.  Thanks. . ." 

On October 11, 2025, Rex met his amazing maker and joined his grandparents, parents, brother, Billy, granddaughter, Zoie, and Janie, in Heaven.  

He leaves to carry on his legacy his children: Charlotte and Scott and Jay and Maria; sisters, Nancy and Anita; sister-in-law, Sandra; grandchildren: Castin (Morgan), Elly (Jalen), Faith, Chloe (Bladen), Eli, Karter, Ethan, and Luci; great-grandchildren: EZ, Knox, Tyce, Oakley, and Daten; his nieces and nephews; fellow cowboys; and the many friends he was blessed with. 

Friends may view and sign the register from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 16th at Prairie Rose Funeral Home in Anthony.

Rex's life will be celebrated at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, October 17th at the Christian Church in Anthony with Pastor Ron Eden officiating.  His final resting place will be in the Spring Grove Cemetery west of Anthony.

Memorials in memory of Rex may be made payable to the Anthony Christian Church or to New Hope Christian Church, Wylie, TX, and can be sent in care of Prairie Rose Funeral Home, 602 E. Main St., Anthony, KS 67003.