Michael Dewayne Bates

 Funeral Services for Michael Dewayne Bates, 71, of Provencal will be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at Blanchard-St. Denis Funeral Home with Rev. Roger Matkin officiating. A burial will follow at Provencal Cemetery in Provencal, LA. Visitation will be held on Friday, July 26, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

 Michael loved spending time with his family and making jokes. He was an avid deer hunter, loved wrestling, and watching old western movies. Michael was a carpenter and spent most of his years building homes. Most of all Michael loved children and grandchildren with all his heart and cherished his time spent with them. 

 Michael was born on July 19, 1953, in Natchitoches, LA to his parents Nelson Cromwell Bates and Mary Kathern Huffman Bates. He passed away on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Shreveport, LA. Michael is preceded in death by his parents, two sisters Sharon Bates Ogle and Brenda Bates McLaren, brother Mickey Bates, and his aunt and uncle Leon and Eula Lea Bates.

 Left to cherish his memory are his son, Michael Chad Bates (Courtney) of Provencal, LA; daughter Michelle Denise Bates of Campti, LA; sisters: Shirley Bates McCloud of Emporia, KS, Sharon Bates of Provencal, LA, and Donna Deason (Mike) of Provencal, LA; brother: Eddie Bates of Denver, CO; and three grandchildren: Dallas Michael Bates, Trevor Wayne Smith, and Patrick Beaudoin Jr. 

 Those honored to serve as pallbearers will be Michael Chad Bates, Dennis Scarborough, Randy Broadway, Randy Yopp, Ernest McLaren, and William Lowery. Honorary pallbearer is Douglas Ebert.