Rev. Fred Bates Jr.
Chesapeake, VA – Rev. Fred Warren Bates, Jr., died October 14, 2011. Rev. Bates was born in Kentucky to the late Fred and Sybil Stack Bates. He was a veteran having served in the US Marine Corp. Rev. Bates was the former pastor of CAVA FWB Church in Virginia Beach where he served for 22 years and the former pastor of Bethany FWB Church in Norfolk where he served 11 years. He was a member of Great Bridge Free Will Baptist Church where he served as pastor to the seniors. He was predeceased by a son, Michael.
Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 50 years, Marie O. Bates; 4 children, Randy Bates, Sheree Parker and husband Tony, Rennie Bates and wife Stacy, and Sarai Fulcher and husband Michael; 2 sisters, Barbara Wilson and husband John, and Debbie Gaskins and husband Robbie; brother, William Bates and wife Zig; 16 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends at Altmeyer Funeral Home, 929 Battlefield Blvd, S., Chesapeake, VA 23322 on Friday from 7:00 until 8:30 pm. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at 11:00am at Great Bridge Free Will Baptist Church, 700 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Chesapeake, VA 23322 with Rev. Billy Bevan, Sr. and Rev. Hal Jones officiating. Burial will follow at Moyock Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Great Bridge Christian Academy, 700 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Chesapeake, VA 23322. Condolences may be expressed to the family at altmeyer.com.
Another champion of the faith has gone home to suffer no more. He was a good warrior for the King.
Barbara, My deepest sympathy to you and your family. My prayers will be with you
Billy will miss seeing and playing golf with Fred, as will all the other guys, at Stumpylake. He was a great guy! Our deepest sympathy to Fred’s family.
Billy & Scarlett Jennings
Bro. Fred is resting with his Lord. He was a very special man and touched a lot of lives. We are praying for all the family. The Bullocks
Bro. Fred will forever be in our hearts. Over the many years, his guidance, wisdom, humor and wit has been a great help in time of need. He is and always will be loved by us and those who knew him well. All our prayers to his loving family.
Brother Fred made a huge difference in my life and ministry. Patty & I look forward to the reunion with him in Heaven!
Brother Fred was a great man and a good friend. His talents, smile, humor and laughter will missed greatly. He was a good friend to me and my family for many years. The Marcums will be praying for all the family.
Brother Fred was a true friend in good times and bad. Going to miss him for a while down here, but looking forward to a reunion up there.
Marvin & Martha Dodgens
Dear Bates family,
We share in your loved one’s passing, but we rejoice in his Homegoing! He and Dad are catching up on past joys in the ministry. May the Lord comfort your hearts as He has comforted ours. Another soldier has gone home! Love,
Nate & Becky Ange
Dear Family,
We rejoice with you and we weep with you. We had some good times with Brother Fred in the past and look forward to continuing those good times in the future.
We wil continue to lift up in prayer those who remain. We love you all.
Much love and prayers,
Ken and Sandi Lane
Dear Family:
Donna and I are sorry for your loss. Brother Fred was an encourager and prior to his illness regularly let us know that he was praying for our ministry. May the Lord renew your strength with His Comforter.
Dear Marie, you and the children are in our prayers, God bless you. Janis and Larry.
Dear Mrs. Bates and family, I am sorry for your loss and will be praying for you. I have great memories of late night singing with Bro. Fred and others at Pigeon Forge after the “Help Build the Fire” services. May God comfort your hearts in these days. Heaven is indeed growing sweeter all the time.
Dear Mrs. Bates, We are so sorry for your loss, please know that we are thinking about you and your family and praying too.
Eleanor Naeher Room 304B Autumn Care
Janet Schafer, daughter of Eleanor
Nannie Ewell resident of Autumn Care
I’m keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers during this time.
I’m so sorry for your loss Marie. I love you and will be praying for you and your family.
I’m so sorry to hear of Rev. Bates’ passing. Everytime I saw him he had a warm smile on his face and just the most positive and uplifting things to say. I know he will truely be missed by his family and everyone who knew him.
It was an honor to know and fellowship with Fred. We thank the Lord for him and his family. May all of you experience the peace and presence of the Lord.
Marie and Family,
Our hearts grieve with you but we also rejoice in the knowledge that Fred is with his Heavenly Father. Our family was blessed by his loving care. We appreciate all the visits and encouragement he gave to my mother and for the beautiful memory of his part in the marriage of Dean and I. He will be greatly missed.
Marie and family, our hearts go out to you today! We can all rejoice that Fred is now in heaven and no longer suffering. We are so thankful for the senior citizen ministry Fred gave at Great Bridge Free Will Baptist Church. We loved to have him come by our homes and talk with us. His humor and caring made us all feel very special. God has called home a very faithful servant, and we are so much better for having known Fred. We shall all miss him.
Marie and family. So sorry about Fred passing. He is with the lord singing and having a good time with no more suffering and pain.He will be miss dearly. He came to the hospital and pray for me and Brenda when I had lung cancer. What a good man. LOVE JERRY AND BRENDA YOU HAVE OUR PRAYERS
Marie, be sure to know that we are praying for you and your family. We have some good memories with you all. We love you.
Marie, I am glad for the opportunity to have known and worked with Fred. We Hyde Park had special prayer for you and your family.
Marie, My prayers are with you at this difficult time. Fred is not suffering anymore and he is home. Please let me know if you need anything.Love you
Marie, we all know where “Bishop” Fred is, up there walking on streets of gold. May God touch each family member with His love and blessed assurance of knowing we’ll all be together again. I love you, Marie and your family.
Matthew 25:21..”Well done,thou good and faithful servant”..Marie, we grieve with you and yet we rejoice in knowing that Fred is Home at last. We appreciate all he did for us and our family- all the hospital visits, prayers and his part in conducting my Dad’s service. Thanks again. Our love & prayers
MAY GOD BE WITH YOU IN THE LOSS OF PASTOR BATES. I PETER 5.7
May God Bless this squared away U.S.Marine.I’ll always remember him.He remains a highlight in my memory.
Our sympathy to the Bates family..We all know that the streets of heaven are guarded by United States Marines. Take charge Fred, and Semper Fi.
Pastor Bates was our pastor for many years and we love him so much. We pray that you will have peace in knowing that he is walking with friends, relatives, and our Lord in Heaven. Lots of love. Ted and Shirley
Sarai & Family: Please accept my sincere sympathy in the loss of your Dad.
Sarai…just wanted you to know that we are thinking of you and your family during this difficult time. Your dad was an amazing man. He is a great example of leaving a Godly legacy. Take comfort in knowing that our loving God is watching over you.
Sari, So sorry about your dad’s sickness and passing. I know how you feel,since I lost mama the same way. But we know we will be with them again one day. Love yall and praying for you too. Love Rachel Wood
So sorry for your family’s loss..ya’ll are in my prayers.
So sorry for your loss. Fred was a good friend and was a great help to me in some hard times. I know where he is today.
So sorry for your loss. We are thinking about you and praying for you all.
Sorry for your loss….Heaven’s gain.
We all sure look forward to seeing Brother Fred when we arrive in Heaven.
May God bless you.
To all the Bates family, we would like to say how sorry we are for Fred’s passing. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. May God bless you.
To Marie and family we are so sorry to learn of Fred’s death. we send to each of you our sympathy,prayers.and love.
Pete and Lettie Dozier
To the Bates family. I am so sorry about your loss. It was a pleasure to have met him and all of you. You are in my thoughts and prayers. I know that he is now with our Lord and Savior! God Bless all you! With love and deepest sympathy, Darlene Meeks
We are deeply saddened at the loss of our neighbor and community member. I would like to express our sympathy and continued prayers for Fred’s family and friends on behalf of my family and our Homeowner’s Association for Tulls Bay Colony.
We are so sorry for your loss and we are praying for your family.
We are so sorry to hear about Fred’s passing. Joy and I are currently in Florida and we will be unable to attend the funeral. Fred has been a great friend to me over the years. I will truly miss him. But in my mind we are playing a round of golf in Bishopsville, SC on our way to the Masters. That was a wonderful trip and I will always have my fond memories of our time together.
We are sorry for your family’s loss of Fred in this life but know he is in a greater place and we will see him again in Heaven. Sincerely Phil and Karen Luzzo. Semper fi
We love you all and will surely miss Mr Fred. Praying for all of you.
We miss our former Pastor, counselor and best friend. He preached what he believed and believed what he preached. He is not lost, we all know where he is and we will see him soon. We love you friend and God Bless you Marie amd your family.
We will missed you very much. But we celebrate your life & how you are rejoicing with our Savior Jesus Christ.
Lots of Love, Karen & Mark and family
What a blessing to have known and served with Bro. Fred. Heavens looking better. Singing with his loved ones who have gone on before…