Official Obituary of
Mernice Bailey Bates Wolfe
January 1, 1919 ~ October 13, 2016 (age 97) 97 Years Old
Mernice Wolfe Obituary
On October 13, 2016, Mernice Bates Wolfe passed away at the Community Nursing Home of Anaconda. Mernice was born January 1, 1919 in Monticello, UT to Elmer Bailey and Alberta Perkins.
When she was seven, her mother passed away leaving four young children. Growing up during the depression, the family was often hungry, their shoes had holes and their dad was often away from home searching for work. Those times taught Mernice the value of hard work, the importance of thrift, a knack for ingenuity and mostly a love of family.
Mernice loved sports and was a star on her high school basketball team as well as having the lead in the school play. She won an award for the winning name for the school paper, which remains to this day.
At age 12, Mernice began sewing her own clothes, with no patterns to follow. She would babysit for 10 cents a night to earn money for material. She also worked plucking turkeys for five cents a turkey.
In 1936 Mernice married Farrell Bates and moved to Anaconda where they raised six children. She continued to sew making her and her daughters' clothes. After she had children she learned to knit. Her first project was not a potholder but a tweed suit! She could knit, crochet and write great poems.
She wasn't afraid to tackle anything, from building a log house and a rock garage, bunk beds with built-in drawers - again with no pattern - to putting a roof on the house (when seven months pregnant).
Those who knew her remember her sense of style, quick wit and sense of humor which got her through some hard times. She was a charter member of the Millcreek Home Demonstration Club and held many offices many times. As President of the Beaver Dam PTA she was instrumental in getting the hot lunch program started. As there was no money in the budget, she made curtains for the kitchen on her own. Mernice was loved and respected by family and friends and her home was always open to her children and their friends. After 36 years of marriage, Farrell passed away. Mernice later married Harold Wolfe.
Mernice is survived by children Curtis (Dorothy) Bates, Sandra (Arden) Ekstrom, Cathy (Don) Doucet,
Micki (Jim) Johnson and Barry (Janete) Bates, daughter-in-law Ximena Olave Bates, 21 grandchildren,
54 great grandchildren and 9 great great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by husbands Parley Farrell Bates and Harold Wolfe, son Robert Keith Bates,
granddaughters Kerri Ekstrom and Candice Heaps, sister Maxine Allred Webb, brothers Jerald Bailey
and Kirk Bailey.
Visitation hours will begin on Friday, October 21, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. and ending at 8:00 p.m.at the
Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home Chapel.
Funeral Services for Mernice will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Anaconda. There will be one hour of visitation
prior to the services at the church on Saturday.
Interment will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Sunset Memorial Gardens.
107 Oak St.
Anaconda, MT 59711
1300 W. Park Ave.
Anaconda, MT 59711
1300 W. Park Ave.
Anaconda, MT 59711
When she was seven, her mother passed away leaving four young children. Growing up during the depression, the family was often hungry, their shoes had holes and their dad was often away from home searching for work. Those times taught Mernice the value of hard work, the importance of thrift, a knack for ingenuity and mostly a love of family.
Mernice loved sports and was a star on her high school basketball team as well as having the lead in the school play. She won an award for the winning name for the school paper, which remains to this day.
At age 12, Mernice began sewing her own clothes, with no patterns to follow. She would babysit for 10 cents a night to earn money for material. She also worked plucking turkeys for five cents a turkey.
In 1936 Mernice married Farrell Bates and moved to Anaconda where they raised six children. She continued to sew making her and her daughters' clothes. After she had children she learned to knit. Her first project was not a potholder but a tweed suit! She could knit, crochet and write great poems.
She wasn't afraid to tackle anything, from building a log house and a rock garage, bunk beds with built-in drawers - again with no pattern - to putting a roof on the house (when seven months pregnant).
Those who knew her remember her sense of style, quick wit and sense of humor which got her through some hard times. She was a charter member of the Millcreek Home Demonstration Club and held many offices many times. As President of the Beaver Dam PTA she was instrumental in getting the hot lunch program started. As there was no money in the budget, she made curtains for the kitchen on her own. Mernice was loved and respected by family and friends and her home was always open to her children and their friends. After 36 years of marriage, Farrell passed away. Mernice later married Harold Wolfe.
Mernice is survived by children Curtis (Dorothy) Bates, Sandra (Arden) Ekstrom, Cathy (Don) Doucet,
Micki (Jim) Johnson and Barry (Janete) Bates, daughter-in-law Ximena Olave Bates, 21 grandchildren,
54 great grandchildren and 9 great great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by husbands Parley Farrell Bates and Harold Wolfe, son Robert Keith Bates,
granddaughters Kerri Ekstrom and Candice Heaps, sister Maxine Allred Webb, brothers Jerald Bailey
and Kirk Bailey.
Visitation hours will begin on Friday, October 21, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. and ending at 8:00 p.m.at the
Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home Chapel.
Funeral Services for Mernice will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 22, 2016 at the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Anaconda. There will be one hour of visitation
prior to the services at the church on Saturday.
Interment will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Visitation
OCT 21. 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM (MDT)
Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral Home107 Oak St.
Anaconda, MT 59711
Visitation
OCT 22. 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (MDT)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints1300 W. Park Ave.
Anaconda, MT 59711
Service
OCT 22. 11:00 AM (MDT)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints1300 W. Park Ave.
Anaconda, MT 59711
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