Born on September 5, 1905, in Forest Hills, Massachusetts, he prepared for college at Newton (Massachusetts) High School and Hebron Academy and attended Bowdoin from 1925 to 1927, becoming a member of Zeta Psi Fraternity.

He was with the American Radiator Company in Providence, Rhode Island, until 1931, when he became a salesman with Jones and Laughlin Steel Company in Boston. He was a branch manager with Reece Machine Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1933 to 1944.

In 1944, he moved to the West Coast to join the Blue Cross Service of California, where he held a number of positions through the years, including as San Francisco sales manager and as western regional manager. In 1963, he was appointed to the newly created position of regional manager of the Northern California Blue Cross Plan, being responsible for marketing in 11 counties. In 1964, he became western regional manager of the National Blue Cross Association, serving California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Utah. He retired in 1967.

He was married in 1928 to Esther Clement, who died in 1983, and is survived by a son, Robert C. Oakes of Walnut Creek, California.