Lloyd Dennis Bates was born on February 17, 1942, to Columbus "Lum" and Jessie (Riter) Bates in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas. He passed away at his home on October 15, 2021, at the age of 79 years.

Dennis was always interested in how things worked and could fix just about anything. His working years included driving cross country trucking, road construction then later in his life, he got his pilot's license and worked for Missouri Conservation spotting fires and pulling banners. He retired from Air Evac Life team as a mechanic. Dennis was well known as the man in the yellow cat hat.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, JoAnn; two daughters, Wendy Elam (Tim) of Fair Grove, MO, and Whitney Adams (Lee) of Pomona, MO; one sister, Kay; two brothers, Jerry and Mike; six grandchildren, Lacy, Tyler (Amy), Stephanie (Nick), Nikole, Khalid, and Shanda; two great-grandchildren, Tucker and Kendall; two brothers-in-law, Dean (Cindy) and Royce; sister-in-law, Pat Gastineau; and many nieces and nephews.

Dennis was preceded in death by his parents, Lum and Jessie Bates; five brothers; one infant daughter, Karen; his father and mother-in-law, Bill and Dorothy Gastineau; and one brother-in-law, Billy Gastineau.

Graveside memorial services will be held on Monday, October 18, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Greenlawn Cemetery, Mountain View, Missouri, with Pastor Diane Cooke officiating, under the direction of Yarber Mortuary, Mountain View. Memorial visitation will be held on Sunday, October 17, 2021, from 6-8:00 p.m. at Yarber Mortuary, Mountain View. Condolences may be expressed at www.yarbermortuary.com.