Leon Bates

Funeral service for Mr. Leon Bates will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, February 11, 2010 at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home with Reverend Stanley Clemmons officiating. Interment will follow at Provencal Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home. Mr. Bates, 86, of Provencal, passed away Monday, February 8, 2010. He was born February 12, 1923 to the late William and Alice Cromwell Bates in Provencal, LA He served his country in the United States Navy during World War II in the Pacific theatre. Those left to cherish his memory include his daughters, Donna Deason and her husband Mike of Provencal, Brenda McLaren and her husband Ernest of Springville, AL and Sharon Bates of Provencal; nieces and nephews he raised as his own children, Mike Bates, Sharon Ogle, Shirley McCloud and Eddie Bates; grandchildren, Kayla Dowden Kimberly Howell, Scott Deason, David McLaren, Daniel McLaren, and Brett McLaren; and 10 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Eula Lea Dupree Bates; his parents; brother, Nelson Bates; sisters, Ruby Abernathy, Louise Sepulavado, and Janie Pharriss. Those honored to serve as pallbearers include his grandsons, David McLaren, Daniel McLaren, Brett McLaren, Scott Deason, Chad Bates, and great grandson, Hunter Dowden.