Clara Bates never imagined she'd live as long as she did, but she enjoyed every day she had. Though most of her 12 siblings lived well into their 90s, and some past 100, Mrs. Bates bested them all at a cool 105.
"Those years gave her a chance to see things she never thought she'd see," said her granddaughter Patrice Grier Newell, of Newnan. "And she enjoyed every minute of it."
For the past few years Mrs. Bates lived with one of her daughters, and their home was often the gathering place for the nearly 60 people who made up the immediate family.
"In November, her first great-great-great-granddaughter was born, and we were the babysitters," said her daughter, Sara Grier of Newnan. "Some days she'd look around and say, 'Well, when is the baby coming? Isn't it time?' And she was so happy to be a part of the babysitting of any of the children."
Mrs. Grier said her mother was still able to walk, feed herself and was "in her right mind until the day she died," which was hours after she arrived at the hospital. Mrs. Grier said she heard a change in her mother's breathing and wanted to get her checked out.
Clara Coleman Bates, often called "Miss Clara," of Newnan, died Wednesday at Piedmont Fayette Hospital from complications of pneumonia. A funeral has been planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Zion Hill Baptist Church, Newnan. Burial will immediately follow at Eastview Cemetery, Newnan. Sellers-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Fairburn, Mrs. Bates eventually moved to Newnan. And though she never lived outside those two cities, she loved to travel. She loved to see different places, and didn't let her age stop her.
"We went to Mardi Gras one year and stayed through Fat Tuesday, and I know she was in her 80s when she did that," Mrs. Grier said. "She wasn't one of those people who got older and went into shell. She loved the Lord, but she loved the pleasures of life."
One of those pleasures included being ferried around by a granddaughter who had a convertible. If the weather was warm enough, Mrs. Bates would tie a scarf on her head and ride around town — with the top down, of course.
In her years Mrs. Bates married, her husband, Frank Bates, died in the '70s, and buried one of her four daughters, Fankie C. Whitaker. There wasn't a secret to Mrs. Bates' long life, her daughter said, because she'd tell anybody who asked — and a lot of people asked.
"Every time they asked what contributed to her longevity, she'd say, 'Hard work kills nobody, put your trust in the Good Lord and He will see you through,' and that was her philosophy, plain and simple," Mrs. Grier said.
In addition to her daughter, granddaughter and great-great-great granddaughter, Mrs. Bates is survived by two more daughters, Rubye Lynch of Newnan and Leila C. Bates of Atlanta; nine grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; and 25 great-great-grandchildren.
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