Robert A. “Rob” Yates – of 1447 Vine St., Millbury, OH, formerly of Arkport, NY, died Sunday morning (March 8, 2020) at St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, OH, following a brief illness.

Born in Hornell on April 10, 1964, he was the son of Gilbert “Gil” & Diane (Nitsche) Yates.

Rob grew up in Arkport and was a graduate of Arkport Central School (class of 1982).  He later graduated from Alfred University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Ceramic Engineering.

He moved to Glassport, PA in 1990 where he was employed at Guardian Industries.  He briefly lived in McKeesport, PA, still working at Guardian Industries.

On May 14, 1994, he was married to the former Rose Nagy.  Rob & Rose moved to White Oak, PA where he was employed at World Kitchens, a company that manufactured Pyrex Dishes.  In 2015 they moved to Ohio where Rob worked as a Furnace & Batch Engineer for Johns Manville Company.

While living in Arkport, Rob was a communicant of St. Ann’s Church.  He later belonged to St. Angela Church of White Oak, PA.

Rob enjoyed rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers and also enjoyed fishing at his sister’s pond (trying to catch a pike) along with river & stream fishing.  He loved attending family functions such as family reunions and “Pond Parties” and weddings, always making an effort to attend no matter where he happened to be living at the time.  His laugh was contagious and would usually make everyone in the room join in with laughter!

He loved playing chess with his son, Robbie; playing cards (especially euchre) with his family; and pitching horseshoes at family picnics.  Rob had a deep affection for his pets and love feeding birds and listening to them chirp.  He also enjoyed gardening — raising tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers.

Rob was a true family man whose greatest joy was simply spending time with his wife, Rose, and attending his son, Robbie and daughter Melissa’s functions, such as concerts and Boy Scouts.  They were truly his “PRIDE AND JOY”.

He  was preceded in death by his mother, Diane Yates who died in 2008; his brother, Gary Yates who died in 1979; and his brother-in-law, Jim Perry.

Surviving are his wife, Rose Yates of Millbury, OH; his son, Robert “Robbie” (Cara Mazurek) Yates of Millbury, OH; his daughter, Melissa Yates of Millbury, OH; his father, Gilbert “Gil” Yates of Arkport;      4 sisters, Sharon (Willy) Meinking of Almond, Mindy Perry of Hartsville, Brenda (Randy) Abrams of Bath and Cyndi (Ron) Gula of Ellicott City, MD; 2 brother, Daniel (Terry) Yates of Batavia, NY and Michael (Shari) Yates of North Tonawanda, NY; several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces & nephews.

The family of Robert A. “Rob” Yates will receive friends on Friday from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM at the Dagon Funeral Home, 38 Church St., Hornell, NY.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday at 10:00 AM at St. Ann’s Church with burial in Fremont Cemetery, Fremont, NY.