Shirley Phillips Bates

August 13, 2017

Shirley Phillips Bates, 77, of Climax, Ga., passed away Sunday, August 13, 2017.

The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, August 16, 2017, at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Jimmy Weaver officiating. Interment will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery with Brandon Bates, Chase Alexander, Benjamin Bates, Garrett Weaver, Allen Weaver and Terry Phillips serving as active pallbearers.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 15, 2017, at Ivey Funeral Home. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com.

Memorial donations may be made to: Antioch Baptist Church, 2030 Antioch Church Road, Climax, GA 39834 or Hospice of Southwest Georgia, 117 S. Donalson Street, Bainbridge, GA 39817.

Shirley Ann Phillips was born September 27, 1939, in Bainbridge, Ga., the daughter of Wyatt Jackson Phillips and Maggie Mae Sellars Phillips. She was a graduate of Climax High School, Class of 1957. Shirley lived all of her life in Decatur County and was a member of Antioch Baptist Church. She worked as a seamstress for Ithaca Industries.

Shirley may have been small in stature but she was quite a fireball. She loved her family and friends and every single one of them knew she would tell it like it was. Shirley enjoyed sitting in her swing and admiring her beautiful flower beds while her children and grands told her all the happenings of their day. She always had a bite for you to eat when you visited and was known for her cinnamon pickle recipe. She enjoyed fishing and playing along with the game shows on television. If the truth be told, Shirley probably could have won millions of dollars over the years watching Family Feud.

Survivors include her children, Donnis Bates and Ricky Musgrove, Greg Bates and his wife, Diane, Reena Alexander and her husband, Kenny, and Brad Bates and his wife, Denise, all of Climax; her sister, Leoma Anderson of Columbia, Ala.; her grandchildren, Crystal, Benjamin, Ashley, Chase, Chelsea, Brandon, Brooke and Samantha; her great-grandchildren, DJ, Dale, Raina, Ariyana, Alena, Shelley, Beth, Jay and Kallie; her great-great-granddaughter, Nevaeh; her nephew, Ladon Anderson; and her canine companion, Dixie. Shirley was preceded in death by her parents; her grandson, Andy Thorsby; and her brother-in-law.

The Bates Family would like to extend a special appreciation to Hospice of Southwest Georgia and Wendy Howard for their care and compassion.