Viva is preceded in death by her parents R. Lem Bates and Mamie P. Bates; sisters Myrtle Hendrix and Dorothy Hancock; and brothers Robert Grady Bates, William Thomas Bates, Walter Jack Bates, John Thad Bates, Henry W Bates, and Kenneth Terry Bates.
She is survived by her daughters Charlotte M. Mackin of Daphne, AL., Valarie Anita Johnson-Overturf of Montana, and Tippi J. Lawson of Huntsville, AL.; son Archie A. Johnson of Cullman, AL.; brothers Franklin D. Bates and Robert Bates; eight grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
The family will receive friends for a visitation at Moss Service Funeral Home in parlor G & H Thursday October 16, 2025, 5:00-8:00 PM. A celebration of life funeral service will follow Friday October 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM in the Moss Service Funeral Home chapel with internment at Shedd Cemetery in Trimble, AL. Moss Service Funeral Home directing.
