PAULINE B. BATES

PAULINE B. BATES

Pauline succumbed at age 98 on Jan. 31, 2016 from acute bronchitis while at La Posada's skilled nursing facility in Green Valley, AZ.

Pauline's parents, Joseph Barta and Pearl Fuson, were offshoots of penniless homesteaders who settled in the bleak Sand Hills north of Ord, NE, during the mid-1880's. Nonetheless, Pauline graduated as salutatorian of Ord High School's senior class in 1935. Then, as a senior at the University of Nebraska in 1940, she became the "Practice Kindergarten Teacher" for the Teachers College's renowned Demonstration School. Subsequently, between 1940-1945, Pauline served as the kindergarten teacher for the school systems of Holdrege, NE; Beatrice, NE; and Yankton, SD.

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she became a war bride by marrying Sgt. Charles Bates, U.S. Army Air Corps, in Lincoln, NE, on July 11, 1942. In due course, her husband spent three years as a weather officer in the USA, Europe and Asia. Upon being reunited, the couple soon had three daughters Nancy Ann, Priscilla Jane, and Sally Jean and Pauline became a homemaker extraordinaire while residing in the Maryland suburbs of the District of Columbia.

In 1979, the couple moved west to enjoy the desert climate of Green Valley, AZ. While there, Pauline was honored for holding a 70-year membership (1936-2006) in the PEO, a group with deep Mid-Western roots.

Pauline's descendants include daughters Nancy Yanity of Portland, OR; Priscilla Robinson of Austin, TX; and Sally of Tucson, AZ. In addition, there are three grandsons: Alexander Robinson of New York City, NY; Brian Yanity of Fullerton, CA; and David Yanity (deceased), plus three Robinson great-granddaughters: Monica P., Genevieve G., and Fiona A., all of New York City.

Burial of her cremains beside those of her spouse will take place at a later date at the Bates Family plot within the historic Phillips Cemetery west of Rockton, IL.