Sydney L. Cate, Jr.

Sydney L. Cate, Jr.

Oct 29, 1922 – Jul 18, 2017

Sydney L. Cate, Jr. passed away peacefully at his home on July 18, 2017. Born on October 29, 1922 in Grace, ID and raised in Salt Lake City, Sydney was the son of an engineer and a schoolteacher. He earned a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Utah, and later attended Stanford University’s Executive Development Program. During World War II, he served as a 1^st Lt. Aide-de-Camp in the U.S. Army. Upon his discharge, he founded Bannock Steel, a heavy equipment company in Idaho Falls, ID, expanding it into a major steel fabrication firm when it merged with Gate City Steel in Boise, ID in 1960. Having acquired the assets of companies throughout the West and Midwest, Sydney sold his interest in Gate City Steel to Valmont Industries in the mid-1980s.

With his wife Betty and four children, Sydney moved to Gate City Steel’s headquarters in Omaha in 1963 and became deeply committed to Omaha’s business and philanthropic communities. He joined the Boards of numerous corporations, including West Omaha National Bank, and served as Chairman of the Board of Husky Industries. As a Trustee or Director, he contributed to many local organizations and foundations, including the Omaha Industrial Foundation, the Joslyn Art Museum, the University of Nebraska Foundation, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Clarkson Memorial Hospital, Brownell-Talbot, United Community Services, the College of St. Mary, and the Boy Scouts of America. Sydney was a Governor of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben for several decades and served on the Citizen’s Advisory Commission for the Strategic Air Command.

As a member of the Young President’s Organization and the World Business Council, Sydney and Betty traveled throughout the world.  For as long as he was able, he pursued his passions for photography, golf, scuba diving and sailing.

In recent years, Sydney devoted his charitable efforts to sponsoring art installations at the Joslyn Art Museum, the Omaha Zoo, Lauritzen Gardens, and at the recently-opened Fred and Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

Sydney was preceded in death by his wife, Betty (née Gerrard); his parents, Sydney L. Cate and Ruth Kenward; and his older sister, Sylvia Fox. He is survived by his younger sister, Ruth Minton; four children: Sandra Cate (Robert Gumpert), Scott Cate (Patricia Fein Cate), Rebecca Cate (Joseph M. Cavin), and Christopher Cate; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

To celebrate Sydney’s life, the family will hold a MEMORIAL SERVICE on Thursday, August 10, 2017 at 5pm at the Bel Air Chapel, 12100 W. Center Rd. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Omaha Zoo and Lauritzen Gardens.