Mildred Ruth Sundquist Bates Lenaghan died in her home at Friendship Manor on September 13, 2025. She was 104 years young.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at noon on Thursday, September 18th at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Rock Island, with visitation one hour before Mass. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Rock Island. Memorials may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, Rock Island. The family requests no flowers.

Born in Moline to Clarence and Ruth Sundquist, she graduated from Moline High School in 1939 and walked down the hill to Farmall Works where she was a secretary until her marriage to John W. Bates, Jr., in 1946. They had four children, Jane, Brad, Mary and Carol. John died in 1958, and Mildred returned to Farmall to support her family. She retired after 27 years.

In 1964, she and Terrence Lenaghan were married, and she became a mother again to Terry's children, Greg, Sue and Rita. Their large family moved to Terramil Farm in Milan, where Mildred preserved hundreds of pounds of corn, green beans, tomatoes and raspberries to feed her hungry family.

Her grandchildren remember the "sweedies" (Swedish pancakes) which she made for their sleepovers, and the endless games of shut-the-box and Yahtzee. She usually won!

After retirement, Mildred and Terry spent the cold winters in Tucson, playing golf and bridge with the many new friends, they made there. They moved to Friendship Manor in 2011, and Terry died there in 2013.

Mildred was a gifted china painter, a skill she and her mother shared. She was a regular at the Monday bridge table at Friendship Manor. Her last game was just three weeks ago.

The family would like to thank the nurses and aides at Friendship Manor and the professional staff of Heartland Hospice. Their special care and love for our mother was exceptional.

She is celebrated by her seven children and their spouses: Greg Lenaghan and Kathy Krans, Jane Doyle, Brad and Bonnie Bates, Sue and Dick Egger, Mary and Gary Richter, Carol Bates, and Rita and Brian Rolfs, 17 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson. She will be remembered as a loving, kind and thoughtful woman, who always said thank you.

May her memory be a blessing.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family online at www.wheelanpressly.com.