Cynthia Bates

Cynthia Bates, age 92, died on August 8, 2026 at Maplewood of Brewster. Born in Quincy on March 11, 1934, she grew up in the Pleasant Lake section of Harwich, the daughter of Donald Bates, Sr. and Elizabeth Bates. After graduating from Harwich High School, she attended Colby-Sawyer Junior College, Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School, and Northeastern University where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Cynthia settled in Boston where she held several secretarial and administrative assistant jobs, including at DC Heath Publishing and Children’s Hospital. In 1984, she began her career at Northeastern University from which she retired in 2007. She enjoyed travelling to Europe, to the Caribbean, and around the United States. She fondly recalled the time she, her mother, and her sister spent in Brooklyn during World War II while her father was stationed there after his Navy tour in the Pacific. Upon her retirement, Cynthia stayed active, attended fitness and cooking classes, joined a book club, volunteered at a homeless shelter to read to children, made visits to the Cape, and continued to maintain social relationships with new and old friends. She took an interest in all of her extended family; attending their activities and events and following their education and careers.

Cynthia is survived by her brother, Donald Bates, Jr., his wife Nancy, and their children Caitlin Lawson and her husband Kyle and Emily Bates. Her sister Pauline (Polly) Woodward predeceased her in 2025 and Cynthia is survived by Polly’s husband John (Jay) Woodward and their children and their families – Elizabeth Woodward, Sue Woodward, Peter Woodward and his wife Sharon Malley Woodward, and Amy Proctor and her husband James Proctor; 8 grandchildren: Kerrick Woodward-Sollesnes and his wife Andrea Woodward-Sollesnes, Ky Woodward-Sollesnes and his partner Sayr Waters, Kaelan Woodward, Liliana Woodward, Ella Woodward, Clara Woodward, Max Proctor and his partner Allyson Knorr-Anderson, and Alice Proctor and 1 great-grandchild Florence Woodward-Sollesnes. Additional survivors include her cousins Nancy Manning and Kevin O’Connor and numerous friends and neighbors.

We would like to extend special thanks to the team at Maplewood of Brewster and to Continuum Hospice for providing excellent care to Cynthia in the past 2 years.

Cynthia was a generous benefactor to a number of charities related to children. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Jude’s or to Shriner Children’s Boston.

The family will hold a private memorial at a later date.