Janet Tates

Janet (Jeanette) was born to Willie Yancey and Annie Mae Porter Yancey on Jan. 21, 1948, in Round Pond, Ark. She was the youngest of nine children.

Janet transitioned from this earthly life to her new life on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at Hanson Hospice Center.

Janet spent her childhood in Arkansas with her siblings and father. In 1961, at the age of 13, she relocated to Benton Harbor, Mich., when her father passed away. She was welcomed into the home of her oldest sister Dorothy Burton McCoy and her husband Hal.

Janet enrolled in the Benton Harbor School system and graduated from Benton Harbor High School.

After a few years, Janet relocated to South Bend, Ind., to be close to her sister Lois. There she met and married Chester Tates and one son was born to this union. Janet eventually returned to Benton Harbor where she became a member of the Refreshing Fountains COGIC where her nephew, Bishop Melvin Burton, is pastor.

Her memory will forever live in the hearts of her son Brandon Lee Yancy Tates; her sisters, Dorothy McCoy, Mildred Nelson and Lois Evans; her grandchildren, Brandon Lee Yancy Tates II, and Jy-keria Tates; her many nieces and nephews, cousins, and her caregiver, Tawanna Taylor; close friends, Rose Lee, Helen Mitchell, Dorothy Whitfield, and the Pollard family.

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, ST Logan, Jr. Porter, Wil Edward Yancey, and Curtis (Otis) Yancey; sister, Ruby Lee Burton; nephews, Walter Nelson Jr., Robert Earl Hatten, Lamar Nelson; and niece, Mary Helen James.