Janis Futrell Bates

Memorial services for Janis Hilburn Futrell Wendell Bates will be at 10:00 a.m. October 1, 2020 at Spring Valley United Methodist Church, Richardson, TX under the direction of Paul Gould, senior pastor.

Janis was born December 1, 1938 to Samuel and Helen Futrell in Alexandria, Louisiana and later moved with her older sister Carolyn, to Monroe, LA. She was a graduate of Neville High School and Louisiana Tech University, where she was a member of Phi Mu sorority. She was smart, generous, beautiful and kind inside and out.

Family, faith, strength, joy, and kindness are only a few of the words that describe and define Janis’s life.

Family – For 35 years, Janis loved and partnered with her husband, Jim Bates. She and Jim followed their travel bug all over Europe and the US. Mom felt a particular connection to Maine where she found peace in moving water, lovely villages, wonderful food and drink.

As the consummate mother, primary cheerleader and biggest fan of her three children, Kathryn Wendell (John Jones) of Raleigh NC, Angela Wendell Hayes (Donnie) of Alexandria, LA and John Hilburn Wendell (Nancy) of Frisco, TX, Janis held them all to the highest standards. She took pride in the accomplishments of every single one of her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephew and made a loving, safe and secure home for all of us.

Faith – Janis was a member of the Methodist church, taking great comfort as a member of Spring Valley Methodist in Richardson. Her faith called her to contribute through ushering at the church with Jim, and by preparing and delivering meals for the homeless – an act to which she was deeply committed.

She was a lifelong volunteer, turning her energies in service at St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston and at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas for many years.

Strength - Janis was strong and independent, undaunted by the hardships posed by many of the journeys in her life. Pregnant with her third child in 1963, she flew nonstop with her two young daughters, one in cloth diapers, across the Atlantic to join her first husband at their new military assignment. “How far are you going, lady?” a serviceman asked her. “All the way!” she answered. And she did it without messing up her hair or lipstick or losing her religion - well before permanent press was invented.

When her first husband, an Air Force pilot, was shot down over Vietnam in 1966, Janis relied on her incredible strength and courage to become an early member of the League of Families of POWs and MIAs, leading the Southwest region of wives as an Area Coordinator. Working closely with Ross Perot, she travelled to Washington D.C. and the U.N in New York to petition for humane treatment of all Prisoners of War, as well as accountability for those missing in action.

At the war’s end she moved to Richardson, Texas. She took classes in psychology at Southern Methodist University and later became licensed in securities investments while working at May Petroleum – overcoming her fear of math and surpassing many challenges faced by women of the day.

Her strength enabled her to meet the challenge of dementia head on, battling it until she overcame it by leaving this world on her own terms.

Joy – Animals were a great love of hers and many of them were important family members all through her life. She made sure to greet any dog and their human on her daily walks. Combining her love for animals with her commitment to help others, she believed in and supported the work that Patriot Paws does training and providing service dogs at no cost to disabled American veterans and others.

Christmas holidays were made more joyful for everyone by Janis as she enthusiastically decorated her home, trees, packages and baked the iconic family recipe, Prince of Wales cake (with Bourbon soaked raisins, of course!). She made sure everyone was remembered and no one was left out.

Janis had a lifelong interest in politics, writing letters to presidents, speaking her mind to the media, campaigning for local leaders and working the election polls. She proudly flew her flag every day and worked to make the world better.

She loved good music, good chocolate, gardening, good photography and, dare we say it…guns!

Kindness - Janis enjoyed meeting new people and making sure they were ok. She was always ready to drop off or send a card to someone who needed lifting up. She carried meals to sick neighbors or edged her neighbors’ lawns. She never ended a conversation or call without saying, “Be good to yourselves and each other.”

Janis left us with high standards of how to do life and be compassionate to one another. She was independent and taught us to be brave enough to go out into the world...just go armed!

Janis is preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Carolyn Potter and first cousins, George and James Ridge.

She is survived by her husband and her children, her four grandsons, Sgt. Samuel Hayes (Aimee) of Plaucheville, LA, Tyler Wendell (Morgan PettyJohn) of Portland Michigan, Brian Wendell (Kayla) of Plano, TX, and Hayden Wendell of College Station, TX her granddaughter Katherine Hayes Devine (Cody) of Pineville, LA and two great- grandchildren, Jarrod and Sarah Hayes of Plaucheville, as well as two nieces, Cynthia Rubsamen (Scott) of San Antonio, and Margaret Peters (Mike) of Houston and one nephew David Potter (Sunnie) of MacAllen, TX, and three great nieces and three great nephews.

Her family extends to the far reaches of Arizona, Colorado, and Virginia, and wherever any member of the Ridge clan lives.

The family would like to acknowledge the care given by members of the Arden Courts of Richardson Staff as well as Pathways Hospice Care who cared for her in the last days of her battle with dementia.

Janis will be laid to rest at the columbarium at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery at 2:15 p.m. on October 1, 2020. Those wishing to send flowers to be delivered by the evening of September 30, 2020 may direct them to Sparkman Funeral Home,1029 South Greenville Ave., Richardson, TX 75081. Donations in her name may be made to either the Salvation Army (https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/) or Patriot Paws (https://patriotpaws.org/). Online condolences may be sent to www.sparkmanrichardson.com.