Richard Alan Bates

Richard Alan Bates, age 64, of Gadsden, Alabama entered Heaven’s gates on Saturday, November 13, 2021. Funeral services will be at 11am on Thursday, November 18, 2021. Rev. Randy Gunter will officiate. Burial will follow at Forest Crest Cemetery in Irondale, Alabama. Collier Butler Funeral Home will direct services.

Alan was preceded in death by his wife, Dr. Willbon Bates; son, Charles Edward Alan Bates; mother, Jean Bates; sister, Michelle Rene’ Bates; mother-in-law, Edith Graff; brother-in-law, Lyndon Seals; niece Farrah Seals.

Alan is survived by his brother, Gregory Bates (Andrea); nephews, Heath (Brittany) and Hunter Bates; great-nephew, Carter Bates; sister-in-law, Jenny Seals; nephew, Bradley Seals; second mother to his son, Jo Anne (JoJo) Clevenger; special friend, Gary Glidewell; special caregiver and friend, Karen Lollar; and multiple other family members of the Clevenger, Bates, and Brown families.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday from 10am until the hour of service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or the Alabama Organ Center.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.collier-butler.com for the Bates family.