Marie (Thomason) Cates

Graveside services for Marie Cates, 91, formerly of Portales, will be held at 10:00 AM, Thurs., Mar. 24, 2022 in the Portales Cemetery.  Her grandsons and great-grandsons will serve as pallbearers.  The family will receive guests at the funeral home on Wed. evening from 6:30 to 8:00 PM.

Dolleta Marie Cates, known to everyone as Marie, was born Oct. 30, 1930 in Elmwood, OK to the home of Emma Jewell (Shook) and Wilborn Stonewall Thomason, and died on the morning of Mar. 15, 2022 in Farwell, TX where she had been a resident of the Convalescent Center for the past several years.

On July 7, 1952, in Lymon, CO she was married to Alvin Cates.  They moved from Beaver County, OK to a farm east of Portales in 1965.  For many years she was a faithful member of the First Baptist Church in Portales.  An accomplished seamstress, she made many of her children’s clothes while they were growing up.  She was an excellent cook and baker, and her rolls were a family favorite.  Mrs. Cates was a soft spoken lady, and always saw the good in people.  In addition to sewing, she spent many hours quilting, and had made special quilts for each of her children and grandchildren.  She also enjoyed oil painting, and had produced a number of landscapes and still life paintings.  Mrs. Cates was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and her family was definitely the highlight of her life.

She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Dewayne and Vicki Cates of Hereford, TX; two daughters and sons-in-law, Marilyn and Larry Bright of Clovis, NM and Judy and Jess Harwell of Cody, WY; a son-in-law, Dennis Widener of Clovis; 9 grandchildren, Lynn Widener, William (Casey) Widener, Nathan Cates, Mitchell (Kendra) Cates, Tammy (Colin) Chandler, Gary (Shanna) Thompson, Amanda (Scott) LaFevers, Jessica (Brian) Jones and David (Jaclyn) Harwell; and 16 great-grandchildren.  She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Raymond Thomason and Ervin Thomason, a daughter, Deloris Widener, a grandson, Layne Cates and by her husband, Alvin Cates who died in May of 1986.

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