Betty Kirkland Bates
July 4, 1959 – August 29, 2024

Graveside funeral services for Betty Kirkland Bates, 65, of Cairo, GA, are at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 4, 2024, in the Cairo City Cemetery, Cairo, GA.  Pastor Mike Nichols will officiate.  Mrs. Bates passed away at Archbold Memorial Hospital, Thomasville, GA, on Thursday, August 29, 2024.

Mrs. Bates was born on July 4, 1959, in Marianna, FL, to the late Jimmy Frank Kirkland and Johnnie Mae Brown Kirkland, who survives.  In March of 1978, she married Joseph Edward Bates, who survives.  They were married for over 46 years.   She retired from the State of Florida as a regulatory specialist.

Survivors include: her husband, Joseph Edward Bates of Cairo, GA; son, James Aaron Bates of Cairo, GA; granddaughter, Emilie Rose Bates of Cairo, GA, Alisha Clark of Bay City, Michigan; her mother, Johnnie Mae Brown Kirkland of Cairo, GA; sisters, Dottie Kirkland of Tallahassee, FL, Marilyn Durden of Tallahassee, FL and Marlene Norrell (Mark) of Land of Lakes, FL; as well as a host of nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father, and a son, Christopher Jozef Bates.

The family will receive friends at Clark Funeral Home on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.