BATES, Vera (Vivi)

The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ Feb. 13, 2002, p. A7 Vera ("Vivi") French Bates, 80, died Feb. 10, 2002 at Good Samaritan Regional Hospital in Phoenix. Mrs. Bates, a winter resident of Wickenburg, was born in Davenport, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 1921, the third of four children. She graduated from St. Katharine's School and Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. She earned a masters degree and Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University and an M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. She served an internship and residency at University Hospitals in Iowa City, Iowa. Vera French married Howard Thomas Bates in 1953. They had three children: twin sons, Christopher and John; and a daughter, Alison. After the deaths of his mother and grandmother, Mrs. Bates' nephew, Michael C. Hoyt, became a part of the immediate family. Dr. French, as she was known professionally, joined the Mental Health Center of Scott County, Iowa, as associate director in 1961 and became director in 1968, serving in that position until she retired in 1980. During that period, Center services became increasingly comprehensive. A new facility, later renamed the Vera French Community Mental Health Center, was built. Previously, she taught psychology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and the University of Iowa and was in the private practice of psychiatry from 1955 to 1961. Upon retirement in 1980, Mrs. Bates continued to serve on state and regional mental health commissions and on the Board of Trustees of Bryn Mawr College. She also was active in a number of community organizations. Survivors include her husband; sons and daughter; seven grandchildren; brother George French of Litchfield Park, Ariz.; and a number of nieces and nephews. Mrs. Bates was preceded in death by her parents, sister Dorothy Ann Hoyt, and brother John French. Vivi Bates very much enjoyed her winters in Arizona and the many new and good friends she made.