Mary Alice Holman Gates, 85, of Hopkinsville, died at 2:00 p.m., Friday, April 3, 2026, at her home in Hopkinsville.
Funeral services will be held at 11:30 am, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at Eagle Way Church of Christ with Pastor John Voss officiating. Burial will follow in Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West at 1 pm. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the funeral hour on Wednesday at Eagle Way Church of Christ. Hughart, Beard & Giles Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A native of Clay County, Tennessee, she was born on October 6, 1940, the daughter of the late Buford Bailey Holman and Clara Mae Rich Holman. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her siblings: Bailey Hall Holman, George Buford Holman, Dorothy Ann Holman Steele, Marjorie Jane Holman Hoffman, and Virginia Isabel Holman Donaldson.
As a student, Alice excelled and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1958 at Celina High School. After graduation, she headed to Nashville and completed secretarial training courses at the Watkins Institute. She met Airman First Class Clarance Gates, and they married. After two children were off to school, she became a secretary for Baltz Brothers Packing Company. When Clarance entered the ministry, she found secretarial employment at each new location. Friends remember her as a Sunday School Teacher, 4-H Leader, and Homemaker.
Survivors include her husband of 64 years: Clarance Gates of Hopkinsville, KY; her son, Brian A. (Connie) Gates of Rockfield, KY; her daughter, Barbara G. (David) Lassiter of Hopkinsville, KY; her brother, James Hill Holman of Celina, TN; her sister, Mae Florence Holman Southall of Nashville, TN; two grandchildren, Marianne Blevins and Ben Lassiter and two great grandchildren, Colton Blevins and Ryleigh Blevins.
