Roy Bates died at the age of 91 on 9 October 2012. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for many years. He was succeeded by his son Michael. Michael Bates lives in Suffolk, where he and his sons run a family fishing business called Fruits of the Sea. Joan Bates, Roy Bates's wife, died in an Essex nursing home at the age of 86 on 10 March 2016.