Patricia "Pat" Helen (Shoemaker) Bates

Patricia (Pat) Helen Shoemaker Bates, 80, of Hamilton, Montana passed away on October 18, 2021 in the arms of her loving husband Roy after a courageous battle with rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s.  Pat was born on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17, 1941, the first-born child of John Shoemaker and Ruth Barnett. Pat had two younger brothers, William and Roger Shoemaker.

Pat cherished her family dearly, growing up in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in Missoula, Montana.  She lived at several different locations in the Missoula valley, but it was always the farmhouse on a ranch with horses and chickens that she held the closest to her heart.  One year, she was a rodeo queen where she enjoyed spending time around the horses and other animals in the exhibits.

From a young age, Pat was extremely active in music where her father made sure she was able to try as many instruments as possible.  In grade school, she found her passion in one of the more difficult instruments to play, the French Horn.  As a band member of Missoula County High, her passion for the brass tube with a flared bell would eventually lead her to earn a scholarship to the University of Montana for her talents.

During her time in high school band, Pat would meet her dream husband of 60 years Roy Bates. Their first date was after a football game in the fall of 1956, and from that day forward her life changed forever.

At MSU she went to school from six in the morning until late in the afternoon taking several different music courses while her husband to be continued in the advanced Air Force ROTC program and finished up his business degree. On July first 1961, Pat and Roy were married in Missoula and later sealed their marriage in the Mesa Arizona Temple as member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and began their worldwide military travels.

Together they raised to children: Barbie and Bryan. Pat took very seriously her role as an officer wife and her role as a mother raising her two beloved children. Pat was always very active in the military wives’ club and had a deep passion for supporting young women and their new families wherever the family moved around the world. The family moved to several different places during her husband’s career in the Air Force including Arizona, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, The Netherlands, South Dakota, England, Germany, back to Arizona, California, New Mexico and then finally settled down in Arizona after Roy retired from active duty.

 After she raised her children, Pat would eventually go back to finish her education to obtain a master’s degree in Human Development with an emphasis on early childhood education. Childhood education was very important to Pat. She devoted over 20 years of her life to teaching young children in the Washington School District in Glendale, Arizona.

Pat had a wonderful life! From meeting the Queen of England and traveling across Europe and throughout the United States, she devoted her life to loving her family and children dearly. Her baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was extremely important to her. It was here where she led the way as a beaming example of Christ for many young women and people in the Church. Pat did get her dream of one day living on a family ranch in Hamilton, Montana with her husband Roy in the later years of her life.

Pat was preceded in death by her parents John and Ruth and her brothers, William and Roger. She is survived by her husband, Roy; daughter, Barbie; son, Bryan; son-in-law, Mike; and daughter-in-law, Barb. Pat is also survived by five grandchildren: Max, Alex, Jaclyn, Bridget, and Brendan.

A celebration of life for Pat will be held Saturday, July 30th beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Daly-Leach Chapel, 1010 W. Main St., Hamilton, Montana.  In lieu of flowers the family asks donations be made to the Arthritis Foundation or the Parkinson’s Foundation in Pat’s name.

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