Mozelle Berrier Bates

Frances Mozelle Berrier Bates, of 763 Brown Street, died at 5:15 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 22, 2007, at Hospice Home at High Point. The cause was complications from a stroke Ms. Bates suffered on Sunday, November 11. She was 84.   Graveside service will be held at 2:00 pm Sunday at the Mausoleum Chapel of Forest Hill Memorial Park, by Rev. Frankie Matthews. There will be no visitation. Davidson Funeral Home is serving the family.   “Time sure flies!” Bates once said, adding, in her inimitable style, that “If you make a left on that road, go down the hill and ‘round the corner, it’ll be Christmas.”   Mrs. Bates was born in Davidson County on May 2, 1923, to Jack and Sally Link Berrier. In addition to her parents, two brothers, Marshall and Odell Berrier, and two sisters, Allie Smith and Mabel Duffey, she was also preceded in death by her beloved husband, Odis Baxter Bates. She leaves to cherish her memories, two daughters and their husbands, Rosemary and Joe Pope of Greensboro, and Amy and Randy Swicegood of Lexington; four grandsons, Michael and Marty Pope of Greensboro, and Chad and Casey Swicegood of Lexington; two special granddaughters, Susan Pope and Sherri Williams of Greensboro; two great-granddaughters, Courtney Pope and Sterling Pope, also of Greensboro; a special niece and her husband, Sylvia and Harold Kinney of Lexington; and her beautiful cocker spaniel, Cookie.   Her family feel’s very privileged to have known her and to have experienced her fantastic examples of selfless love. They learned much from this magnificent woman, and, as she was the dominant figure in her family, they are shocked that she is no longer with them.   Frances lived a simple & old-fashioned life, and she loved it and lived it well. Her life was centered in Lexington, where she grew up, worked and spent all her years. She and her husband, owned & operated Bates Grocery & Service on Cotton Grove Road, adjacent to Sheets Memorial Baptist Church, where she was an active member, and she retired from Lexington Furniture Industries in 1988.   She was an attentive provider and a tireless worker, and, throughout her entire life, her focus remained on her family, her morals and her God. She loved to read, and she loved to cook, and she loved to sew, and she loved her garden; always quick to point out that the “big, ugly” tomatoes were the best-tasting ones. What you saw was what you got with Frances; she was no phony. She was practical, down to earth, and had no use for frills of any kind. Her sense of humor was clever, dry and honest, and she didn’t suffer fools lightly.   Above all, Frances Bates was beautiful – through and through. She was an excellent wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, and neighbor. Her life mattered, and they certainly don’t make them like that anymore. She will be sorely missed.   Time flies, indeed, Grandma. Rest in peace.   At the family’s request, expressions of sympathy should be directed to Davidson Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Sheets Memorial Baptist Church, 210 Cotton Grove Road, Lexington, NC 27292, or to Hospice Home at High Point, 1803 Westchester Drive, High Point, NC 27262, or online at http://www.hospice-careconnection.org/WaysToGive.aspx.