Suzanne Gates

Suzanne Gates passed away peacefully on February 21, 2021. She was born Suzanne Leonard in Urbana Illinois to parents Dwight and Louise (Liestman) Leonard and brother George. She was  married to Philip Gates for 67years. After a lifetime of Illinois living, they recently relocated to Fairfield Glade Tennessee to be near their children.

Suzanne was a member of the first United Methodist Church in Champaign. She was a president of the United Methodist Women and was married to Philip there in 1953.

Many people in the community knew of Suzanne by her role as the hostess of the Bishop Buffet at Marketplace Mall in Champaign. She held that role for 15 years, where she touched and enhanced many lives of both customers and employees. She was highly regarded in the company as one of the finest hostesses and set the standard for employee efficiency and friendliness.

Suzanne enjoyed living on the farm for most of her life, growing a beautiful flower garden each year and keeping her Angora goats fed and happy. Susanne organized food and fun to enhance the lives of the large extended family by hosting an annual day long 4th of July family reunion for over 30 years.

The world was a better place with Suzanne around with her generosity and sweet spirit. She is survived by husband Philip Gates, daughter Cindy Gates Leach, and son Randy Gates. She was loved by three generations of nieces and nephews and many lifelong and new friends

  To leave a note for Suzanne’s family or to share a memory, please sign the online guest book at  jacksonfuneralservices.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Suzanne Gates, please visit our floral store.