Patricia Ann Bell Bates

Patricia Ann Bell Bates died at her Marble Falls home on Tuesday, Aug. 27, following complications from a stroke. She was 85.

Friends from Kermit, Texas, will remember Pat, as she liked to be called, as the daughter of the late William and Vera Kirkpatrick, wife to Bailey "Ben" Bell, who preceded her in death in 1995, and mother of Kay Bell and Ben Allen Bell, who passed away in 2000.

Friends from Elk City, Oklahoma, where Pat and Ben moved in the mid-1970s, will remember her as an avid golfer, enthusiastic member of the Ladies' Petroleum Club and dedicated square dancer.

Friends from Marble Falls, where Pat moved in 2010, also will remember her love of dance, this time waltzing with her friends at the Marble Falls Senior Activity Center, her delicious baked treats and as the "mother" of her terrier Willie.

Pat was born in Elbert, Texas, on June 29, 1934, but grew up in Kermit, graduating from Kermit High School in 1952. She was the oldest of the four Kirkpatrick sisters.

She and Ben Bell were married on April 7, 1952, and lived in various West Texas towns before returning home to Kermit to be near her parents and raise her family.

Upon their move to Western Oklahoma and with her children out on their own, Pat worked as a bookkeeper for several Elk City companies.

Her retirement years were spent in the Texas Hill Country near her family.

She is survived by her daughter Kay and son-in-law John Holmes of Austin; sisters Barbara McNeely of Lakeway, Texas, and Nancy Mercier or Port St. Lucie, Florida; and two grandchildren.

A memorial service for Pat will be held at the Marble Falls First United Methodist Church's chapel at 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Pat's honor to the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements under the care of Jenkins Funeral Home, Burnet, Texas.

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