Dr. Jimmie Cleve Oates

Our deepest sympathies to Joyce and family. Jimmie was such a kind man and after reading all the wonderful posts from former students of his, well, we wish we HAD the privilege of having him as OUR teacher! So many lives were touched by this generous and witty man! Until he is awakened from his present sleep, he will be missed very much. Please know you are all in our prayers.

My Dear friend,
He will be missed but I send my love and regards to you who will be waiting to be reunited with him soon. Lean on Jehovah and of course my family are always here for you. We love you both dearly and I know you are blesssd for caring for him. Please keep in touch as I will with you. I love you!

Dr Oates made learning enjoyable with his Gooney Pooney Birds! He was my favorite professor!

My prayers and deepest sympathies for the family. Dr. Oates has always been one of my most fond memories from my days at Queens College. I would agree with so many of the words used to describe him - funny, wonderful, certainly tolerant. He is and will be missed.

Dr. Oates was a wonderful man and a clever professor. Though he was quite serious about physics, he never took himself too seriously. I learned a lot from him. Sending prayers for peace.

Dr. Oates was a good person and a wonderful instructor. With humor and his gooney pooney bird examples, he challenged me to succeed in his Environmental Science class, despite the fact that I was intimidated by math and science in general. I have always appreciated the fact that he cared whether I succeeded or failed, and I use him as an example of the type of instructor I strive to be for my own students. His family are in my thoughts and prayers as he now soars with the angels.

Any Queens alum who took Environmental Science with Dr. Oates will remember how he always seemed to include at least one question on his exams that had to do with gooney pooney birds. Dr. Oates made science fun again for me. He was truly a wonderful teacher. My deepest sympathies to his family. I know he will be sorely missed.

Dr. & Mrs. Oates were our next door neighbors in Charlotte for many years. In retrospect, it's amazing how tolerant he was of me and the other kids in the neighborhood forever cutting through his yard and generally being a nuisance. He was a kind soul, even as a child I loved his dry wit - so funny in his own special way. I remember him helping me with high school physics homework once - I'm sure it was pure torture for him, but you would have never known. All in all, a wonderful man for...

A very engaging instructor with a sense of humor. We loved the ostrich string puppet, whom he named "Gooney Pooney Bird", that he used as a teaching tool. :)