Joyce Lorraine Watkins Bates 1927 - 2021

Joyce Lorraine Watkins Bates was born January 8, 1927, to Fenton James Watkins and Florence (Crawford) Watkins of Birmingham, Michigan. She was the youngest of five children that included three sisters, Marie Bay, Winnie Walker and Carolyn Pierce, and one brother, Edward Watkins, all of whom predeceased Joyce.

Joyce grew up in Michigan. She attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She received her B.S. PHN degrees in Nursing. She continued her education, receiving 60 post-graduate units and degrees in health fields and teaching.
She met her husband, Herman, in Dearborn, Michigan, where they were both employed by the Dearborn Board of Education – she as a school nurse, health educator and mental hygienist, he as a psychologist.

Together they had four children, Jodi DeMarco, Randall and Rodrick Bates, and Jennifer Dakins; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

They lived in several locations, the longest being 28 years in the San Francisco Bay area. Their retirement years began in La Connor, Washington, until they moved to Hillside Retirement Community in McMinnville, Oregon. Joyce and Herman spent several happy years together and completed their lives at Hillside. They are still together at Willamette National Cemetery, where Joyce was buried with her husband Herman on June 15, 2021.
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