Elfreda (Montgomery) Oates

Elfreda Montgomery Oates was born December 8, 1913 to Tom Selah Montgomery and Edith Hancock Montgomery in Casscoe, Arkansas.  She married Leroy Oates in 1931 and to this union were born five girls and ten boys.   Elfreda was baptized and accepted Christ at an early age at Wofford Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Casscoe, Arkansas. She transitioned this life early Sunday morning, July 14, 2019.

She began farming just after she and her husband, Leroy, were married. The two were married on Sept. 28, 1931. She was 18, and he was 23. Together, they had 15 children, 39 grandchildren, 68 great-grandchildren and 87 great-great grandchildren and 2 great, great, great grandchildren. Her husband, two sons August Oates and Titus Oates and three daughters Maggie Smith, Barbara Kay Jones, and Edith Lavern Smith preceded her in death.

Elfreda leaves to cherish her memory daughters Linda Coleman and Elfreda Virjena Henry (Sylvester) and sons Kirks (Frankie) Oates, Cletus Oates, Jack (Linda) Oates, Tom (Lena) Oates, Danny (Bonnie) Oates, Emmitt Oates, Gale (Charlene) Oates and Presley Oates.

In addition to being a busy wife, mother and farmer she also owned a grocery store called Oates Grocery for several years. Jokingly, she said she ran a hotel, daycare, restaurant, Laundromat and a taxicab service all from her house. 

Before her illness you would  find her managing the family farm. She currently farmed 534.2 acres of cropland and 284.3 acres of woodland. She operated the family farm, which includes making all business decisions and limited farm machinery. At the age of 91, Oates applied for business assistance in the construction of a pit reservoir underground pipeline, a diesel powered pumping plant added height to a levy to hold more irrigation water and an eight-foot water controlled structure to regulate the flow of water in and out of the 65-acre reservoir. Once the project was completed she was very excited about the new irrigation system.

What did she do to live this long? Oates said she stayed busy working all day and night and training her children and her neighbor’s children how to work and the importance of work. She ate plenty of raw and cooked vegetables and fruit and studied the Lord’s word daily.

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