Margaret Elizabeth "Cookie" Bates

Margaret Elizabeth Bates—known to many as Cookie, Auntie Cookie, Margie, and even Monster—left this world on September 1, 2025, surrounded by her beloved family both in person and over FaceTime. She left as she lived: wrapped in love and giving it right back.

From the time she was little, Margaret was “Cookie.” Her daughter Diane proudly declared she was “the cookie that didn’t crumble,” while her daughter Helen gave the name a twist and affectionately called her “Monster.” Her nieces and nephews knew her only as “Auntie Cookie,” and to her husband—the love of her life—she was simply “Margie.” Each name tells a piece of her story, but together they paint the picture of a woman who was everything to everyone.

Her greatest joy was being a wife and mother, but her heart expanded even more when she became a grandmother. Her ride-or-die grandchildren were the lights of her life, and she adored them with the same boundless love she gave her children.

Margaret also mothered everyone else who wandered her way—friends, neighbors, coworkers, even the members she served for decades at the credit union. She gave her time, her laughter, her advice, and above all, her love.

A woman of deep faith, she taught Catholic education, adored our Blessed Mother, and never missed an opportunity to remind others of God’s grace. Even in her final hours, she was still blessing those around her.

To know Margaret was to feel her love—it radiated from her core. She never had an enemy and never missed a chance to lift someone up. She was fun, fierce, faithful, unforgettable, and forever our Cookie.

The world was sweeter with her in it, and though we’ll miss her every day, her love will never leave us.

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