James "Jim" Gilbert Bates, 77, passed peacefully on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. He was born on May 26, 1947 to the late Gilbert I. Bates and Dorothy Wood Bates in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, served in the U.S. Army, and was an employee of Fruit of the Loom, Inc. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 52 years, Irene Keys Bates, his son J. Alan Bates and daughter-in-law Jenny Taylor Bates, two beloved grandchildren Lyo Bates and Simon Marshall Bates, his sisters Judy Hertel of California and Nancy Brock of Indiana and numerous cherished nieces and nephews and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in memory of Jim to any of the following: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, P.O.Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741, or The Big Bend Hospice Foundation, 1723 Mahan Center Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32308, or The Sweat Therapy Fitness Rock Steady Boxing Foundation, 1122 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303.
There will be a celebration of Jim's life at WKU Chandler Memorial Chapel and Columbarium at a later date.
