Danville Hall Bates, 93

Danville Hall "Alonzo" Bates, 93 of Portsmouth, died Thursday December 31, 2015 at Hempstead Manor. He was born February 2, 1922 in Pinetop, Kentucky to the late Joe and Cordie Hall Bates. Danville was 1 of 14 children. At the age of 14 he left home and entered the C.C.C. at Elkhorn City, KY. After leaving the C.C.C. he owned and operated the Joyland Club and the Bates Taxi Cab Company in Hindman, KY. He married the late Beatrice Amburgy Bates then moved to Detroit where the two operated a boarding house for 20 tenants. The two returned to the Portsmouth area and purchased an 85 acre farm near Stout. He was a farmer and a builder. He built many buildings in the West Portsmouth area, including the Gulf Oil Station in West Portsmouth that he owned and operated, now known as Boland's Mini Mart.

Danville is survived by 5 children; Sheila (Terry) Boland of Portsmouth, Ruth Bates of Woodstock, Georgia, Patricia (Kenneth) Whisman of Portsmouth, Doug (Lisa) Bates Sr. of Coloma, Michigan and Nina Fitzgerald of Woodstock, Georgia, 8 grandchildren; Shawn (Leslie) Boland, Christopher (Traci) Boland, Douglas (Karen) Bates II, Michelle (Tony) Salzbrun, Kenneth (Tami) Bates, Joseph Bates, Amber Bates and Paul (Alex) Whisman, along with 16 great grandchildren.

There will be graveside services 1:30 PM Sunday January 3, 2016 at Siloam Cemetery in Kentucky with Jimmy McCullough officiating. Friends may call at the Roger W. Davis Funeral Home in West Portsmouth on Sunday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Condolences may be sent to www.rogerwdavisfuneralhome.com.