Mrs. Flora Bell Bates, age 87, of Winnfield, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Winnfield.

Born on Saturday, November 20, 1937, in Coushatta, Louisiana, she was the daughter of the late Jack Sanders and the late Marie Ezernack Sanders. A longtime resident of Winnfield, Mrs. Bates was a graduate of Calvin High School and a retired custodian. She was a devoted member of Sanders Church and spent her life in faithful service to her family and her community.

Mrs. Bates was known for her loving spirit and generous heart. A gifted homemaker, she found joy in crocheting, sewing, and quilting—arts through which she expressed both her creativity and her care for others. Her greatest happiness, however, came from being a great-grandmother. She loved deeply, lived fully, and cherished her role as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and sister. She was united in marriage to the late Roy Bates, with whom she shared 54 years of loving partnership.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved husband, Roy Bates; her sons, Mickey Bates and Terry Bates; and her great-grandson, Braylen Bates.

Those left to honor her memory include her children: Melissa Kelly and husband Robert, Tommy Bates, and Michelle Perot and husband Shannon; her sisters, Alice McNaughton and Laura O'Bryan; and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Visitation will be held at Southern Funeral Home on Saturday, April 12, 2025, from 9:30 AM until 11:30 AM.  Funeral services will follow at 11:30 AM in the chapel of Southern Funeral Home, with Rev. Bobby Bates officiating.

Interment will follow in Sanders Chapel Cemetery.

Honored to serve as pallbearers are Lynn Bates, Bradley Bates, Colby Kelly, Timmy Bates, Zack Perot, Micheal Bates, Trenton Bates, and Hunter Perot.

Expressions of sympathy and condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.southernfuneralhome.com.