BERENICE BATES
GODFREY - Berenice Norma Bates, age 93, went to meet Jesus at 12:18 a.m. on Saturday, May 25, 2019, surrounded by her loving family at Jerseyville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Berenice was born on March 6, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri, daughter of the late William and Edna (Stock) Wood Sr.
On August 8, 1941, she married Hubert F. Bates in St. Charles, Missouri. They shared 51 years of marriage until his passing on March 23, 1993. She worked briefly for Olin Corporation Winchester Division. She also worked for the United States Postal Service in Grafton. After years of dedicated service, she was promoted to Postmaster at the Fieldon Post Office where she worked until her retirement in September 1989.
Berenice was a "hoot" if you asked her if she knew a particular person, she would say "yes, they live on the route". We had a good laugh when she said it, always knowing she never forgot anyone. After retiring from the Postal Service, she volunteered for 16 years as a Pink Lady at Jersey Community Hospital, she enjoyed making new friends and helping everyone she met.
Berenice is survived by two sons and a daughter in-law, Jerome Bates and William and Deborah Bates, all of Bethalto; a daughter and son in-law, Rebecca and Richard Rayls of Jerseyville; eight grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren; along with numerous nieces, nephews.
Her sister, Dorothy Sherman passed away on June 6, 2019 while services for Berenice were being planned.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers, William Wood Jr. and Norman Wood; three sisters, Edna May Etter, Lorraine Anderson and Harriette "Pat" Indermark; a daughter in-law, JudithBates; sisters in-law, Shirley Wood and Gladys Wood; brothers in-law, Seibert "Red" Etter, Steve Sherman and Howard Anderson.
A celebration of life memorial service will be held at Godfrey Congregational Church in Godfrey, IL on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at the East Newbern Cemetery in Dow.
The family suggests in lieu of flowers, memorials be given to the Godfrey Congregational Church.
Crawford Funeral Home in Jerseyville has been entrusted with arrangements.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Berenice Norma (Wood) Bates, please visit our floral store.