Washington Russell Bates b 8 Jan 1883 Letcher Co KY d 7 Dec 1973 Letcher Co KY; s/o Mary Jane Bates and Unknown. Washington Russell Bates m. 27 Nov 1907 to Annie Dixon b 26 Jun 1889 Letcher Co KY d 10 Jan 1980 Letcher Co KY; buried Adams Cemetery, Blackey, Letcher Co KY; d/o William Van Dixon and Dicey Combs. Children of Washington Russell Wash Bates and Annie Dixon;

1. Mary Jane Bates b 15 Feb 1909 d 19 Feb 1983 Letcher Co KY; m. Ray Monies Arnold b 30 Mar 1909 d 19 Jun 1970.

2. Helen Gertrude Bates b 15 Feb 1914 Blackey, Letcher Co KY d 14 Nov 2017; age 103; buried Bill Bates Cemetery, Blackey, Letcher Co KY; m. Manford Zenneth Taft Bentley b 25 Sept 1909 d 2 Sept 1986; buried Adams Cemetery, Blackey, Letcher Co KY; s/o Elijah Crittenden Bentley and Lula Jane Taylor. Children of Zenneth T Bentley and Helen Gertrude Bates;

i. John Philip Bentley; m. Linda Unknown.

ii. Randall Taft Bentley; m. Tammie Unknown.

3. Eddie Bates b 16 Jan 1919 Letcher Co KY d 25 Jan 2016 Lexington, Fayette Co KY; buried Bill Bates Cemetery, Blackey KY.

4. John Russell Bates b 25 May 1921 Blackey, Letcher Co KY d 12 Oct 2008 Cairo, Prentiss Co MS; buried Forked Oak Cemetery, Booneville, Prentiss Co MS; m. Frankie Lee Engle b 5 Jul 1928 Altitude, Prentiss Co MS d 14 Apr 2001 Iuka, Tishomingo Co MS; d/o Shelby Ross Engle and Essie Mae Burcham. Children of John Russell Bates and Frankie Lee Engle; i. John Russell Rusty Bates b 1 Aug 1954 d 26 Feb 2016; cremated. ii. William Randall Bates b 7 Oct 1961 d 30 Aug 2002; buried Forked Oak Cemetery, Booneville, Prentiss Co MS; m. Tracy J Unknown. iii. Frankie Diane Bates iv. Shelby Joseph Bates v. Wesley Bates

5. Robert Martin Bates b 21 Mar 1925 d 30 Nov 1978; buried Adams Cemetery, Blackey, Letcher Co KY

6. James Donald Bates b 29 Mar 1928 Blackey, Letcher Co KY d 8 Feb 2010 Jeremiah, Letcher Co KY; m. Maxie Perkins b 4 Dec 1928 d 4 Aug 1997; buried Adams Cemetery, Blackey KY. James Donald Bates m. (2) Lottie Bates.

7. Tommy Lowell Bates b 9 Mar 1931 d 21 Jul 2012; buried Adams Cemetery, Blackey KY; m. Rita A Bates b 23 Sept 1931 d 4 Jul 1991; buried Adams Cemetery, Blackey KY

Obituary of Helen Bates Bentley

Helen was born February 15, 1914, and died November 14, 2017, at the incredible age of one hundred and three years. Born the daughter of Washington Russel and Annie Bates, she attended public and private schools before marrying Manford Zenneth Taft Bentley (Deceased). She was the mother of two children, John Philip Bentley (Wife, Linda Bentley) and Randall Taft Bentley (Wife, Tammie Bentley), four grandchildren, Baron Taft Bentley (Son of Randall Taft); Vicki Bentley Neubert (Wife of Kevin Neubert), Lisa Bentley Galloway (Husband Deceased), and John Philip II, (Son and daughters of John Philip), and six great grandchildren, Zachary Galloway and Derek Galloway (Sons of Lisa), and Isaiah Bentley, Abby Bentley, Bodie Bentley, and Heidi Bentley (Son and daughters of John Philip II). Helen taught school for more than thirty years in Letcher and Floyd County, Kentucky, worked as a munitions expediter in Hamilton, Ohio during World War II, served her community as President of the Whitesburg Garden Club, President of the Letcher County Historical Society, President of the Letcher County Teacher's Organization, Member of the Letcher County Library Board, worked in the Bentley Grocery store in Whitesburg with Zenneth, survived to be the oldest member of the First Baptist Church of Whitesburg, and traveled as far as Alaska and Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, England, Scotland, Italy, and Switzlerland. Her life spanned most of the Twentieth Century from World War I and Women first exercising the right to vote, on through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, and into World War II, and the Cold War. She saw the election of John F. Kennedy and the moon landing, the Vietnam War, the dawn of the Computer Age, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the USSR, the endless wars in the Middle East, and the economic miracle of a democratic Japan. She witnessed the Digital Age of the Twentieth First Century and the rise of giants, China and India, before leaving a well-lived life behind. Funeral: 12:00 O'clock Noon Saturday, November 18, 2017 at the Whitesburg First Baptist Church with Tony Brown officiating. Visitation: 6:00 P.M. Friday at the Whitesburg First Baptist Church. Burial will follow in the Bill Bates Cemetery at Blackey, Kentucky.

Obituary of Eddie Bates

Birth: Jan. 16, 1919 Letcher County Kentucky. Death: Jan. 25, 2016 Lexington Fayette County Kentucky. Eddie Bates January 16, 1919 ~ January 25, 2016 (age 97) Eddie Bates, 97, of Nicholasville, KY passed away Monday January 25, 2016 at the Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington, KY. Eddie was the son of the late Washington and Annie Bates. Surviving is 2 sons: Rod (Cindy) Bates of Stanford, KY; Ren (Jan) Bates; 1 daughter: Debi (Tom) Duffy of Lexington, KY; 1 sister: Helen Bentley of Whitesburg, KY. 11 Grandchildren and 20 Great Granchildren. Funeral 1:00 O'clock P.M Saturday January 30, 2016 at the Letcher Funeral Home Chapel with Elwood Cornett officiating. Visitation will be held Friday January 29, 2016 from 6:00 to 10:00 O'clock P.M. at the Letcher Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in the Bill Bates Cemetery at Blackey, KY.

Obituary of John R Bates

Birth: May 24, 1921 Blackey Letcher County Kentucky. Death: Oct. 12, 2008 Cairo Prentiss County Mississippi. Cairo - John R. Bates Sr., 87. died Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, at his home after a long illness. He was a member of Forked Oak Baptist Church and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Forked Oak Baptist Church with Bro. Ricky Johnson and Bro. Horace McCombs officiating. McMillan Funeral Home of Booneville is in charge of the arrangements. Survivors include his wife, Geraldine Godsey Bates of Dayton, Ohio; one daughter, Frankie Diane Bates of Cairo; three sons, John R. Bates Jr. of Knightstown, Ind., Shelby Joseph Bates of Indianapolis, Ind., and Wesley Bates of Cairo; two sisters, Draxie Banks of Detroit, Mich., and Helen Bentley of Whitesburg, Ky.; three brothers, Ed Bates of Nicholasville, Ky., James D. Bates of Jeremiah, Ky., and Tom Bates of Indianapolis, Ind.; nine grandchildren, Amanda Bates, Candice Bates, Dessa Bates, John Bates III, John Robert Bates, Shelby Bates, Jonathan Kersey, Jacob Kersey and Travis Kersey; and five great-grandchildren, John Dylon Bates, Danielle Brooke Bates, Dylan Russell Bates, Reece Jackson and Faith Webster. He was preceded in death by his parents, Washington Russell and Annie Dixon Bates; his first wife, Frankie Lee Engle Bates; and one son, Randy Bates. Visitation will be at the church from 5 to 9 p.m. today and until service time Wednesday.

Obituary of Frankie Lee Engle Bates

Birth: Jul. 5, 1928 Altitude Prentiss County Mississippi Death: Apr. 14, 2001 Iuka Tishomingo County Mississippi BOONEVILLE - Frankie Lee Engle Bates, 72, died Saturday, April 14, 2001, at Iuka Hospital after a sudden illness. She was a member of Forked Oak Baptist Church. She was a former cosmetologist and school bus driver. She enjoyed quilting. Services will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Forked Oak Baptist Church with Bro. Ricky Johnson and Bro. Horace McCombs officiating. Burial will be in Forked Oak Cemetery. McMillan Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Survivors include her husband of 48 years, John Bates Sr.; her daughter, Frankie Diane Bates of Booneville; four sons, John "Rusty" Bates Jr. and Shelby Joseph Bates, of Indianapolis, Ind., Wesley and Randy Bates of Booneville; her mother, Essie Mae Engle of Booneville; three sisters, Maxine Holder and Ann Lowrey of Booneville and Dorothy Surratt of Nashville; two brothers, Jack Engle and James Engle of Nashville; nine grandchildren, Amanda Bates, Candice Bates, Dessa Bates, John Bates III, John Robert Bates, Shelby Bates, Jonathan Kersey, Jacob Kersey and Travis Kersey; two great-grandchildren, John Dylan Bates and Danielle Bates; several nieces and nephews. Pallbearers will be her sons and grandsons. Visitation will last until 9 p.m. today. The body will lie in state at the church from 11 a.m. until service time today

Obituary of Randy Bates

Birth: Oct. 7, 1961 Death: Aug. 30, 2002 CAIRO - Randy Bates, 40, of the Cairo community, died Friday, Aug. 30, 2002, at his home. He was a member of the Forked Oak Baptist Church and a disabled electrician. He was preceded in death by his mother, Frankie Lee Bates. Services will be at 3 p.m. today at the Forked Oak Baptist Church with Bro. Ricky Johnson officiating. Burial will be in the Forked Oak Cemetery. McMillan Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Survivors include his wife, Tracy J. Bates; his father, John Bates Sr. of the Cairo community; three sons, Jonathan Kersey, Jacob Kersey and Travis Kersey, all of the Cairo community; one sister, Frankie Diane Bates of the Cairo community; three brothers, John "Rusty" Bates of Knightstown, Ind., Shelby Joseph Bates of Indianapolis, Ind., and Wesley Bates of the Cairo community; several nieces and nephews. Visitation will be until noon today at the funeral home, then from 1 p.m. to service time at the church. The body will lie in state at the church from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.