JANUARY 27, 1959 – OCTOBER 3, 2026
In the Care of Laird Funeral Home
Born to Robert and Marilyn Bates in Illinois, Mike grew up with his sister, Mary and brothers Jim, Dave, and Tom. His family moved to the south end of Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1972 where he met a brown-eyed girl named Elyce Rodewald in the halls of Fairfield Jr. High. He graduated from Southside High School in 1977, and went on to earn a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Houston in 1982.
Mike and Elyce were married on April 2nd, 1983 in Houston, Texas. Their friendship and marriage have spanned 54 incredible years. Mike’s love for Elyce was evident through a lifetime of action toward building a home and raising their children, Seth and Emily. Mike was a proud father, and instilled an impressive combination of work ethic and ingenuity in both of his children.
Mr. Bates began his teaching career in Houston in 1983, and retired from his most beloved Chireno High School in 2013. In his early years, he got in trouble for playing trash-can basketball with his math students. In Chireno, things like ‘guitar Fridays,’ filming commercials in Spanish, and ‘KCHS News Broadcast’ were somehow part of the curriculum. It was those kinds of shenanigans that won the hearts of everyone that crossed his path. He was an unconventional educator who was deeply invested in the success and well-being of his students, and his life lessons continue to extend far beyond the classroom.
In 2017, Mike was thrilled to connect with his oldest sister, Cindy and he cherished getting to know her. Mike became a grandpa to Bennett in 2019, and Arthur in 2022. He dearly loved their soccer follies, helping them catch bugs, and playing trains with them every chance he could. In his later years, he lived his best social life with coveted friends and the magical people at the Nacogdoches Treatment Center and Austin Heights Church. In 2025, he chose to be baptized.
As his Alzheimer’s progressed, he remained a pretty spry guy, enjoying concerts, art projects, walking the dog, daily burpees, old TV shows, and monitoring the cattle population between home and Nacogdoches. Visits from Seth, Elisabeth, ‘the little boys,’ Emily, and Denise continued to bring joy throughout his days. He was often still able to recall memories from some of the most meaningful periods in his life, including numerous escapades from high school, the Houston years, and decades with treasured family at the Gingerbread House.
Mike was a husband, father, grandpa, son, brother, uncle, teacher, musician, friend, sawyer, tennis champ, juggler extraordinaire, and builder. He may or may not have had a driving record to discuss, and never met a mac and cheese he didn’t like. He rooted for harmony and peace, believed in the greater good, and constantly marveled at the small wonders of the world.
It’s hard to capture Mike Bates in words, he was an entire experience. His people were his life – his wife, children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, tribe of friends, students, and extended family far and wide are all evidence of a life well-lived.
A visitation will be held on Friday, November 6th, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Laird Funeral Home in Nacogdoches.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 7th, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at Austin Heights Church in Nacogdoches.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Nacogdoches Treatment Center or Austin Heights Baptist Church.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Michael Bates, please visit Laird Funeral Home’s floral store.