Bill Gates Sr., the father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, died of Alzheimer’s disease Tuesday, according to reports. He was 94.
Gates Sr., who was a World War II veteran and a founding partner for a Seattle-based law firm, passed away at his Hood Canal home in Seattle, reports CNN.
“We have all had a long time to reflect on just how lucky we are to have had this amazing man in our lives for so many years,” Gates Jr wrote on his website.
Gates Sr. was instrumental in building the charity known as The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was founded to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, globally, while domestically to expand educational endeavors and provide universal access to technology.
“The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would not be what it is today without my dad,” wrote Gates Jr., who managed the charity until his father stepped in to help.
“People used to ask my dad if he was the real Bill Gates … The truth is, he was everything I try to be.”
Gates Sr. also provided legal counsel to Microsoft, his sons’ tech giant, when it was just starting to take off.