Grandfather of four killed in fire remembers fishing, frizzy hair and first smiles

Craig Bates had a tradition with his 19 grandchildren.

They’d lay on his round belly, and they’d fall into a silent nap.

He got to spend only one afternoon doing that with his youngest, 3-month-old Harley Wheatley.

“I got to spend a day with her,” he said, emphasizing the “a.”

“I spent all the time with her, but just a day of her and I. Nobody else around.”

Harley was the youngest of four Pratt siblings who died in a fire Thursday morning. It happened at around 9 a.m. in Bates’ house near Second and Austin.

The siblings — Reece, 6; Timmy, 2; River 1; and Harley — were trapped in the basement with their mother, Charee Wheatley, 22.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the State Fire Marshal.

Wheatley was flown to a hospital in Wichita where she remains in critical condition. Bates said she has some burns to the left side of her body, but she’s been unresponsive since being rescued.

She doesn’t know her children are gone.

“She’s going to be devastated,” Bates, her stepdad, said. “I know how it is for me, and it’s going to be ten times worse.”

Her husband works in the oil fields and when he’s gone, Bates said, Wheatley rarely leaves the kids, unless she needs groceries or just a moment of quiet.

One thing Bates will remember is Wheatley’s routine.

“Get up, breakfast, lunch, dinner, bed,” he said. “You didn’t upset the routine.”

Asked how he would describe Wheatley, Bates said just four words.

“She was a firecracker.”

She fought for her children. She fought for her family.

“She weighed about 90 pounds wet but she fought like an army full of men,” Bates said.

Now, she’s fighting for her life.

The children

Craig Bates knew his grandchildren in a way only a grandfather could.

The oldest, Reece, was an active child.

“He was my wife’s best friend,” Bates said. “They’d cruise around in the car, hunt, fish, go to the park. They were pretty much inseparable.”

Reece liked to play with Nerf guns.

Timmy, 2, was named after Bates’ father, who died in 2012. It was a name he always took pride in.

“Timmy was a sweet child,” Bates said. “He had this laugh that’d make you smile. He’d always want to be held.”

He liked to fidget with things — mostly straws. So the family kept extras around to keep his hands busy.

River, 1, was a “spitfire” like her mother.

“She held her own with the boys,” Bates said. “She had this real fine angel hair.”

River would wake up to a poof ball of hair on her head.

“I’d take my beard oil and put it in her hair to slick it back.”

She always wanted to be picked up and liked to spread her attention evenly among the large family.

The baby, Harley, was starting to grow. More specifically, “she was turning into a little butterball,” Bates said.

“She was just to the point where she was focusing on things,” Bates said. “So she’d look at you and smile. She just started making noises. She wasn’t a very fussy baby. I guess it was because she knew she was loved.”

Moving forward

Bates knows what needs to be done next. But doing it is easier said than done. A memorial service will be set up for sometime in the future.

A GoFundMe Account has been created for the family to help with expenses.

A few local businesses have talked about hosting fundraisers for the family. A cousin said Dillons is collecting food.

Pratt is a town of nearly 7,000. Everyone knows everyone.

They’ve already received an outpouring of support. Asked what the family specifically needs, Bates said prayers.

“Just pray for us,” he said. “Send us love.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2018 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Grandfather of four killed in fire remembers fishing, frizzy hair and first smiles."