A funeral service for Mrs. Markie V. Gates, 90, of Carthage, will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 3, 2015, July 3, 2015, at Southside Baptist Church with Pastor L.W. Thorn officiating under the direction of Jimerson-Lipsey Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Holland's Quarters Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday at the funeral home. Mrs. Gates passed away on Monday morning, June 29, 2015, in Carthage.

Sister Markie V. Wilcots Gates was born on April 15, 1925, in Panola County, the youngest of 17 children born to the parentage of the late Sherman and Lucy Ware Wilcots. She professed God at a very early age, uniting with the Pine Grove Baptist Church. As a young adult, she continued her walk with Jesus, joining the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, where she served in the choir and was also a member of the Mission Society until her death. She always stated, "All Wilcots love each other." She united in marriage to the late Bonnie Gates on Aug. 4, 1938. She loved cooking, fishing, sewing, and quilting. In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. Gates was preceded in death by two sons, Bonnie "Floyd" and Willie C. "Woot" Gates; daughter, Georgia "Neas" Gates Jones; 16 siblings; and two grandchildren, Bonnie L. Gates and Domminik Roberson.

Mrs. Gates is survived by one son, Minister David Gates of Dallas; three daughters, Blandene Roland of Carthage, Linda Roberson and Eddie of Dallas, and Brenda Kidd of Dallas; 22 grandchildren; 51 great-grandchildren; a multitude of great-great-grandchildren, great-great-great-grandchildren totaling five generations, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and loving friends.

A guestbook may be signed online at www.jimerson-lipsey.com.