William B."Billie"Bates

The retired owner of Bates and Thigpen men's clothing store, he died at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, at Heritage Manor Nursing Home. He was 92, a native and resident of Baton Rouge and a U.S. Army Air Force veteran of World War II. Visiting at Rabenhorst Funeral Home chapel, 825 Government St., on Sunday, Jan. 11, was from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Visiting resumes at the funeral home on Monday from 8 a.m. until religious service at 10 a.m., conducted by the Rev. Chris H. Andrews. Burial in Greenoaks Memorial Park. He is survived by a daughter, Barbara B. Little and husband Sam Little, of Baton Rouge; son, William "Bradley" Bates Jr. and wife Mitzi Miller Bates, of Baton Rouge; three grandchildren, William "Brad" Bates III, Gillian Bates and Aaron Little; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Robertson Bates; a sister, Mae Helen Fortenberry; and two brothers, Jewel L. Bates and James Franklin Bates. He was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church, a former member of Capital City Kiwanis Club, a 1938 graduate of LSU earning a bachelor's degree, a member of Phi Kappa Alpha and a former chairman of the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board. Special thanks to his caregivers, Ida Mathews, Rose Thompson, Lillian Domingue and Wanda Boutte.