James R. Bates

James Rudolph Herman Bates was born April 6, 1927 to Pearl and Versella (Napue) Bates, at the old Alexander homestead two miles north and one west of Nicodemus. His twin died shortly after birth, and James was left to ‘be kept comfortable’, as he too wasn’t expected to live long. However, living long is just what he did. He wanted to make 90 years which he did. He celebrated his 90th birthday on April 10, 2017 at the Nicodemus Township Hall, with nearly 100 family and friends in attendance. Thirteen days later and after complaining of shortness of breath, he was admitted to the Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital in WaKeeney, where he was treated for heart failure. A week later he returned home to his own ‘nursing home’, as he called it, under Hospice care. His daughters Cheryl and Angela cared for him and were present with him until his last breath on Tuesday, May 30, 2017 around 2:10 p.m. As an only child, he spent much of his time with his grandmother Annie Bates, at the Bates farm northwest of Nicodemus. He spent his early years playing alongside Alvina (Bates) Alexander, his first cousin, and ‘sister’, as he called her. She was with him as he celebrated his 90th birthday. He attended Nicodemus School District #1 and the Fairview School until Eighth Grade. While living in California, he enrolled in night school and received his high school diploma in 1969 along with his two children, Clint and Cheryl. In 1946, he married his childhood sweetheart, Charlesetta Williams of Nicodemus, and raised six children. They moved to southern California and lived in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Altadena until he retired in 1982, after 25 years with the City of Pasadena Sanitation Department. He especially enjoyed cleaning up after the Rose Parade. After returning to Kansas he worked 10 years for the Kansas Highway Department. Like his father, before him, he served as the Nicodemus Township Trustee for years, supporting and giving back to the community and ‘home’ he loved. ‘Rudy’ loved baseball and watched it religiously during the season, and even enjoyed watching women’s college softball. His love for baseball began when he grew up with his dad playing 2nd base on the Nicodemus Blues Baseball Team and his mother as scorekeeper. He remembered his dad driving the team to their games in a wheat truck. He loved every sport except hockey, and could be seen on any day in his favorite chair in front of his big screen TV. On Monday nights, he would watch another one of his favorite sports – wrestling. His TV schedule always included local and national news, as well as “Jeopardy”, trying to answer as many questions as possible. This was after watching “Let’s Make a Deal” and “Dr. Phil”. During the mornings he’d watch the “Price is Right” and his favorite soap operas. When he wasn’t watching sports, he was reading the Hays Daily News or Hill City Times, or one of his favorite magazines like Time, Sports Illustrated, or Esquire. Keeping his mind sharp and informed was his way of warding off old age, dementia, and boredom. He formerly owned a lawn and garden business while in California, and loved to keep his farm immaculate, frequently cutting the grass and weeds. When he lost his love, Charlesetta, in August of 2005, it was less than two weeks after they celebrated their 59th Wedding Anniversary. He continued to live on their farm, the ‘old Bibb’s place’, just a mile north of Nicodemus. Often, he said, ‘I don’t stay here, I live here.’ He also frequently told everyone, ‘I’m not going anywhere until the Lord wants me.’ The Lord wanted him and called him home on Tuesday, May 30, 2017, where he met the Lord and others whom he loved and had preceded him in death. He is preceded in death by his lovely wife Charlesetta, and his son Clint and daughter Pauline Jackson. Leaving behind to fondly remember him are his four children: James Earl (Tina) Bates, Belgium; Cheryl Jones, Alhambra, California; Angela Bates, Bogue, Kansas; and Priscilla Bates, North Beach, Maryland; daughter in law: Jacqueline Bates, Hill City, Kansas. His grandchildren include 13, with 24 great grandchildren, and several great-great grandchildren, and a host of other family and friends. He will be laid to rest in the family plot, next to Charlesetta at Nicodemus Mt. Olive Cemetery.