Casey Bates

Memorial services will be at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, May 17, 2014 at the First Baptist Church of Happy. Casey Wade Bates passed away Saturday, May 3, at the age of 43. He was a large man both in stature and in heart who devoted his life to his one true passion, his art. He made the world a beautiful place everywhere he went with the kindness he would share and the lasting images he created. Casey will be sorely missed and lovingly remembered by many. He was preceded in death by his mother, Nina Bush, grandparents, Ray and Fern Spear, Ben and Wynona Bates, and Uncle Rick Spear. Survivors include his father, Larry Bates and wife, Retha; two sons, Raymond Bates and wife, Alyssa, and beloved granddaughter, Addison, and son, A. J. Bates; one daughter, Autumn Gentry; two sisters, Natasha Elders and Shauna Sias; one brother, Raymond Gutheinz; four aunts, Kay Bryant, Pallie Jordan, Lanissa Schexnayder, and Judy Foster; three uncles, Dan Hopkins, Vance Hopkins, and Lance Hopkins; loved ones, Mel Hunter, Andrea Shelley Potts-Bates, and Shelley Bates; and special cousins, Sherie White, Mary Crist, Barbara Murphy, Nichole Sisneros, and Nick Spear. Casey is also survived by many good friends, family, and the countless lives he touched. The family suggests memorials be made to Snack Pak 4 Kids, 701 Park Pl. Ave., Amarillo, TX 79101.