Alfred Bates

Alfred Scott Bates, 90, passed away Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013 at Emerald-Hodgson Hospital in Sewanee. A native of Evanston , Illinois , he was a graduate of Carleton College and was drafted into the Army during World War II, spending nine months at the University of Chicago in intensive French studies before landing in Normandy, France during the Invasion as an interpreter, eventually ending up in Military Government in Germany. He earned M.A. and Ph.D degrees from the University of Wisconsin . While a graduate student, he did research on his thesis subject, Guillaume Apollinaire. His expertise led to the book on Apollinaire in the Twayne collection. He became a member of the French faculty at the University of the South in 1954 and taught French and then film, until his retirement in 1993. A rich retirement gave him time to engage in all his many other enthusiasms: poetry (he wrote several books), birdwatching, painting, civil rights, and lately, brain studies and quantum physics, He was an omnivorous reader. Mr. Bates is survived by his wife of 65 years, Phoebe Strehlow Bates, a fellow Carleton graduate; four sons, Robin Ricker (Julia) Bates, of St. Marys City, MD, Jonathan Reed (Joyce) Bates, of Clarksville, David Scott (Belinda) Bates, of Iowa City, IA and Samuel Jackson (Elizabeth Barrett) Bates, of Madison, WI. Also surviving are grandchildren, Darien Strehlow (Betsy) Bates of NYC, Tobias Graham (Candice) Wilson-Bates, of Pittsburgh, Pa., Fletcher Scott Bates and Emilia Bates, of Iowa City as well as two great-grandchildren, Alban Lee Bates, of NYC and Esme` Eleanor Bates, of Pittsburgh, Pa. There will be a memorial service at a later date. Anyone wishing to do so is invited to contribute to his or her favorite charity in Scotts name. We suggest Folks @ Home for their loving care or the Otey Memorial Parish Church Building Fund which will provide space for organizations which do so much to make life easier for Sewanee and its environs or otherwise to an endless list of worthy organizations. The family is grateful to the personnel and staff of Emerald-Hodgson and to friends and family for their support. Moore-Cortner Funeral Home, 300 1st Ave NW , Winchester , TN 37398 (931) 967-2222 http://www.moorecortner.com/