Lance Walter Yates, Sr

My deepest condolences to Marie, all of Lance's children, and his extended family. I first met Lance, about 1982, (I was only 19) when we both worked the night shift (4 pm till midnight) at Wittek hose clamp factory in LaGrange Park. Really nice guy who always lit up a room when he entered. Within 2 weeks of getting acquainted with this guy, who was ABSOLUTELY nuts about fishing, he had me, and my friend Alex, driving from LaGrange Park to Montrose Harbor, Lake Michigan, every night after work, in order to "night fish" off the lighthouse dock out there...going for salmon. We would get there around 1 am and Lance would then proceed to cast a "crocodile" glow in the dark lure, out into Lake Michigan. At this point, Lance would tune out the world, but not those fish. My best memory of him is the night that he had a DOZEN salmon lined up on the Montrose Harbor pier. They were running like crazy that nite n he was slammin' them. Every time he hooked into a fish, he would start whistling like crazy. Like I said, this guy was a TRUE fisherman...with dedication to the sport like I never saw before. I hooked up with him again, years later 2012, on Facebook, apparently just before he passed away. I guess this is after he found out he was sick, but he never mentioned anything about that, instead discussing old times and old fishing trips. I was truly saddened a couple years later, when I went to contact him again, and learned what had happened. A really really sweet guy who made friends where ever he went, and whatever he was doing. I'll miss you Lance. I lost track of you for all those years and I wish it could have been different. The world lost a good one! RIP my friend...fishing with the angel's now