BETHANY, MO: Ila M. Yates, 84, of Bethany, MO passed away peacefully on Sunday, August 7, 2016 at Bethany Care Center, Bethany, MO.
She was born November 20, 1931 in Augusta, IA the only child of Van and Vera (Gross) Fraser.
She attended Denmark, IA School and in later years achieved a degree from Chillicothe Beauty Academy.
On May 5, 1956 she was united in marriage to Charles A. Yates. She was a hard worker mostly as a waitress to make ends meet and mother of two young daughters. She followed her husband’s career moving from Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota until they bought into a package liquor and family employed restaurant business becoming self-employed in Pattonsburg. She and Charlie dabbled with each opportunity that came along then sold business and bought the package liquor business in Lineville to lessen the seven day week work load. She attended Chillicothe School of Beauty alongside her eldest daughter and worked part time in her daughter’s beauty shop in Lineville. She also escorted wide semi-trailer loads on our highways. In her spare time she enjoyed cooking, gardening, canning, knitting, quilting, roller skating, square dancing, horse events and attending her family fireworks and there were plenty of good times with horse friends, as she and her husband bought first several Registered Quarter Horses and began competing with their barrel horses. She also raced horses in the early 1980’s. She and Charlie traveled with their horses to surrounding states while continuing to work full time for Oats Transportation. She helped with many horse club events.
Ila was preceded in death by her parents and Aunt Florence (Gross) Nichols.
Survivors include her husband, Charlie; two daughters, Donna (Skinner) Stevenson, Great Falls, WI, Linda (Skinner) McCarty, Allerton, IA; 5 grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Margaret Yates; brothers-in-law, Alivin (Mary) Hillman, Woody Wilson; and nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, August 11 at Roberson Funeral Home, Bethany, MO. Burial will follow in Morris Chapel Cemetery, Bethany, MO. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Morris Chapel Cemetery, Morris Chapel Church, Harrison County Hospice and/or the Bethany Senior Center in care of Roberson Funeral Home, PO Box 46, Bethany, MO 64424. Online condolences may be left at www.robersonfuneralhome.com