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1919 Gladys 2008

Gladys Edna Bates (Crane)

October 17, 1919 — April 4, 2008

Gladys Edna (Crane) Bates, 88, of Ames, Iowa where she had been living, formerly of Sioux City, died Friday, April 4, 2008.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. James United Methodist Church in Sioux City. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. today at Christy-Smith Morningside Chapel.

Gladys was born Oct. 17, 1919, on a farm near Fedora, S.D., the daughter of Amos and Edna (McGillvray) Crane. She graduated from Fedora High School and attended Mankato Commercial College in Mankato, Minn., for two years. She worked as a bookkeeper in Sioux City beginning in 1939 and then in Burbank, Calif.

She married Donald Bates on Aug. 20, 1946 in Sioux City. She was an Avon representative for 40 years, worked for Iowa State Extension and worked in the greenhouse at Bomgaars for many years.

She and Donald joined St. James United Methodist Church in 1952. They were active in the church as well as the Siouxland Senior Center, Sioux City Garden Club, Morningside Garden Club and the Scandinavian Society. They loved to travel and took many group trips. She also was a member of Beta Sigma Phi for 60 years. Her favorite hobby was house plants and gardening. She was happiest when she was digging in the dirt.

She is survived by a daughter and her husband, Karen Bates and David Brown of Ames, Iowa; a son and his wife, John and Deann Bates of Cedar Falls, Iowa; a son, Brad of Denver, Colo.; a stepson and his wife, Ronald and Lori Bates of Sioux City; 10 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; a brother and his wife, Ivan and Marcella Crane of Mitchell, S.D.; a sister-in-law, Virginia Bates Lanoie of Sioux City; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Don in 2001; her parents; five brothers; two sisters; and a granddaughter, Sandra Bates.

Memorials may be made to St. James United Methodist Church or the Siouxland Senior Center.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gladys Edna Bates (Crane), please visit our flower store.

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