MacLeod Douglass (Doug) GatesMacLeod Douglass (Doug) Gates, 89, died peacefully on February 19, 2026. His wife Pat, his children, and a gathering of family and friends eased his passing. The staff at Easton Hospital, Candle Light Cove, and Talbot Hospice were most attentive.
Born May 1, 1936 in Quincy, MA, Doug was the son of Mary MacLeod and Fred Carleton Gates. He spent his youth in Laurel and Wilmington, DE, and later in Centreville, MD. Doug graduated from Severn School in Severna Park, MD. He graduated from Washington College in Chestertown, MD (Class of ’59) with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity and later a member of the Washington College 1782 Society.
After college, Doug married Ethel Collins, with whom he had three children – Peter, David, and Elizabeth. Doug attended Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, FL where he was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and entered flight training. He was later stationed at Quonset Point, RI, assigned to Air Anti-Submarine Squadron (VS) 39. In October 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, LTJG Gates’ squadron flew sorties in Grumman S2F Trackers from the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CVS-9), enforcing the blockade of Russian ships destined for Cuba. Doug was an advocate for all who serve in the armed forces and was often seen sporting a crisp US Navy ballcap. After leaving the Navy in 1963, Doug worked at Hercules, Inc. in Wilmington, DE. In 1966, he returned to the Eastern Shore and was employed at Washington College as the Alumni Director.
In 1984, Doug married Patricia Frawley Ferguson. They lived at the historic “Wharf House” at Quaker Neck Landing and later on Campus Avenue in Chestertown. Doug began a new career as an alcoholism counselor at Warwick Manor in Cambridge, MD and later served as Director of Alcohol and Addiction Services for Queen Anne’s County, where he developed an effective education and treatment program based on the chronic disease model. In 1991, Doug was awarded the Washington College Alumni Citation in recognition of outstanding lifetime achievement in the field of public service.
Doug had a great way with people, appreciating their talents and their backgrounds. He especially valued the talents and life experiences of the watermen of Quaker Neck Landing. He was an entertainer to his friends, regaling all with lively song and music from the piano and his beloved ukuleles. In his retirement, Doug’s focus was on family, and on forming and maintaining many meaningful relationships. He found great joy in taking walks at the Washington College track with close friends and being a member of the Chestertown Ukulele Club, where he played his ukulele and later a hand-crafted “washtub bass.” People became friends, friendship brought experiences, experiences became stories and lessons for life. He could often be seen at Ellen’s for breakfast discussing the world affairs of the day. He kept in touch with classmates from Severn School, his KA fraternity mates, and friends from his naval service. In his work for Queen Anne’s County, he recruited, mentored, and trained an amazing staff, with whom he continued to gather throughout his retirement – a nod to Bill W, a special friend of Doug’s for 47 years.
For decades, Doug enjoyed participating in Chestertown activities. He served as a member of the Vestry at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, attended Sons of the American Revolution meetings, helped run waterfront activities at the very first Chestertown Tea Party weekend, and later served on Chestertown’s Historic Commission. Living at Quaker Neck Landing, he was active in sailing, gunning, fishing, and gardening. He became a talented woodworker and had a fond love of collecting and restoring period antique furniture. He enjoyed identifying and collecting decoys and became a talented carver in the folk-art tradition. In his workshop in Quaker Neck, he carved and painted hundreds of duck decoys and dozens of other birds and forms of wildlife for family and friends alike.
Doug was predeceased by his brother Fred Horatio (“Pete”) Gates. He is survived by his sister Sally Louise Herzer of Virginia Beach, VA, his wife Patricia Gates, his children Peter Douglass Gates (Susan) of Vienna, VA, David Carleton Gates (Betsy) of East Hampton, CT, and Elizabeth Gates Haslbeck (Leo) of Derwood, MD, nine grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and many loving cousins, nieces, and nephews; his two stepdaughters, Holly Ferguson Rhodes and Heather Oakleaf Ferguson of Chestertown [Hope Ferguson Gorsuch passed in 2010], and two step-grandchildren.
A memorial service followed by a reception will be held at Emmanuel Episcopal, Church Chester Parish in Chestertown, MD at 2 PM on Friday, March 27. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Washington College (https://www.washcoll.edu/giving /index.php) and Emmanuel Church, Chester Parish (https://www.emmanuelchesterparish. org/give-2). A private burial will be held at a later date at Chesterfield Cemetery, Centreville, MD.
