Jeanne Marie Bates (L'Esperance) passed away peacefully with her family by her side at the Tidewell Hospice House in Bradenton, FL on September 29, 2024. She married Chris Bates on May 20, 2000 who predeceased her in 2023.
She was born in Newport, VT on December 3, 1950 to Edmond and Arlene L'Esperance. She attended high school at Sacred Heart in Newport, VT and graduated in 1969. She was a homemaker while her sons were small, but found a passion working within the school system after they were grown. It is here that she made many lifelong friends and impacted the community in ways too numerous to count. She also opened her home to foster many local kids which she would go on to count as her own. Jeanne's definition of family was much broader than most. She was quick to open her home, her heart and her arms to whoever needed it, and to her you were family.
Jeanne and Chris relocated to Bradenton, FL where she quickly became known as the planner of potlucks in their neighborhood. She served as the secretary of the HOA and could always be counted on to lend a helping hand. She made many lifelong friends during her time there and truly counted them as her family.
She is survived by the following: her sons Scott Alan Wing and Christopher Michael Wing (Megan Sargent); her stepson Jeremy Bates; grandchildren Kyle, Dustin, Marley and Mitchell Wing and Jamie Orazietti and Benjamin Wing as well as several great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her sisters Terry L'Esperance, Annette Bliss (Earl Haynes) and Rita Fortin (Norbert Fortin) and sister-in-laws Laurie Wood (Tom Wood), Kim Corey (John Corey); her mother-in-law Marion Bates with whom she shared a special bond.
She is predeceased by her husband Chris Bates, her parents and sisters Claire and Michele and her brother-in-law Steve Bliss and Jim Wheeler as well as Nancy and McDonnell Smith.
