Joseph Frank Bates

Joseph Frank Bates, age 71, resident of Columbus, died on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at Columbus Hospice House. Graveside services are scheduled at Parkhill Cemetery, Columbus on Monday, September 21, 2015, 11 a.m. with Reverend Hank Reeves officiating according to Striffler-Hamby, Columbus. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Sunday, September 20, 2015 from 3-5 p.m.

Mr. Bates, son of the late Grady Frank Bates and Margaret Studdard Bates, was born December 20, 1943 in Fort McPherson, Georgia. He was a veteran of the United States Army, where he served his country honorably in the Vietnam Era Conflict. After his distinguished career in the Army, he became a member of DAV #56, American Legion, Post #35, and the Forty Eighters. Mr. Bates was Baptist by faith and was a member of Southside Baptist Church.

He is survived by his fiance’, Ingrid Hudson; daughter, Angela Stoldt; grandchildren, Craig Allen Vaughn, III, Megan Marie Vaughn, Jessica Diaz and husband Michael, Kristin Stoldt, and Tiffany Bussell; great-grandchildren, Christopher Vaughn, Makinze Vaughn, Skylar Vaughn, and Joseph Kane Little Hawk; brother, Dr. Michael Bates and his wife Starnel; sister, Barbara Young and her husband Homer; aunt, Betty Harrison; nieces, Elaine Brown and Janice Whitehead; many other relatives and friends.