Sara B. Bateman

After a full life that was blessed in every way, Sara Alice Boteler Bateman slipped into the hands of God on March 16, 2019 at home. On Wednesday, March 20, visitation will be at 11:00 a.m at First Presbyterian Church until funeral service at 1:00 p.m. Burial will be in Greenoaks Memorial Park following the service. Born in Laurel, Mississippi on August 3, 1931, she was the daughter of Bal Slater Boteler and Zeb Reid Boteler. In 1939, she moved with her parents to Little Rock where her father established the Barq's Beverage Company of Arkansas. She attended Little Rock Central High School, then attended Gulf Park College in Long Beach, MS. Upon graduation, she attended University of Texas in Austin where she became a member of Chi Omega Sorority. She transferred to LSU where she remained active in Chi Omega and was elected a yearbook Campus Favorite both Junior and Senior years. She graduated LSU with a double major in 1953. On August 16, 1953, she married Ernest Dell Bateman, Jr., of Baton Rouge and moved with him to New Orleans where they lived for four years while he attended and graduated dental school at Loyola University. While in New Orleans, she worked for the Orleans Parish Department of Public Welfare as a social worker and then became Bridal Consultant at Kreeger’s, which, at the time, did the largest bridal business in the South. During this time, she and her husband were active members of St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church and she began teaching high school students in Sunday school which she and her husband continued to do for more than 25 years after leaving New Orleans, through their move to Fort Bragg, NC ,and then after settling permanently in Baton Rouge. After returning to Baton Rouge, she served on the regional board of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board and had a special love for the members of her weekly Bible Study of which she had been a member for over 40 years. Active in the community, she was an officer and long time board member of the Junior League of Baton Rouge. She served as president of the 6th District Dental Auxillary, on the original board of the Baton Rouge Cotillion, as president of the Chi Omega House Corporation Board for 20 years, and as president of the Chi Omega Alumnae. She served on numerous community boards and school committees and was an early recipient of the Volunteer Activist Award being honored in 1976. A member of Morning Callers and her special Lunch Bunch for more than 50 years, she also was a member of Reviewers Book Club, The Baton Rouge Country Club and, with her husband, held original membership to Bocage Racquet Club. A survivor of both Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and colon cancer, she spent much of her time talking with, and encouraging, cancer patients not only in Baton Rouge but throughout the country. A true survivor, she was gracious and beautiful, both inside and out. She was a role model for peers and younger generations of women in setting the supreme example of strength, fortitude and hospitality through sharing her wisdom, love and deep faith in God with all that she knew. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Zeb Reid Boteler, Jr., a sister, Ouida Grace and her beloved husband of 55 years who died Oct. 18, 2008. She is survived by her children Leslie Bateman Brennan, Reid Boteler Bateman (Ashley), and Lauren Bateman Bailey (Lionel); and her six grand children, Sara Brennan Trechsel (Andrew) and Richard Brennan, Barrett, Suzanne and Brent Bailey, and Rebecca Bateman; her sister-in-law, Joyce Bateman Meredith. Pall Bearers will be Barrett Bailey, Richard Brennan, Brent Bailey, William Boteler, Scott Deumite, Sloan Deumite, and Michael Martin. Honorary Pall Bearers will be Thomas Bell, Stephen Conner, Gillis Hill, James Nunnally, Andrew Trechsel, Scott Westbrook and Baker Vinci. Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, 701 North Blvd. Baton Rouge, LA 70802 or Hospice of Baton Rouge 3600 Florida Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70806