Gerald "Bill" Coats, Emporia
1915 - 2007
Gerald “Bill” Coats, 92, died Sunday, Dec. 23, 2007, at his home near Emporia.
He was born Nov. 14, 1915, at Admire, the son of Guy and Ruby Doster Coats. Mr. Coats farmed in the Admire area until 1956, when he moved to Emporia and farmed until he retired. He was active in the Emporia Farmer’s Market.
He was a member of the Neosho Rapids Card Club for several years.
He married Norma V. Weaver on Dec. 24, 1942, at Emporia. She died Feb. 3, 2004. He also was preceded in death by a daughter, Marilyn Jones, and two brothers, Glen and Kenneth Coats.
Survivors include three daughters, Judy Huffman, Osage City, Shirley Manning, Emporia and Ruby Mosher, Emporia; three sons, Gary Coats, Auburn, Phil Coats, Emporia and Glen Coats, Allen; 14 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the VanArsdale Funeral Chapel in Osage City. Burial will follow at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery near Admire. The family will receive friends an hour before the service at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans and sent in care of the funeral home, 107 N. Sixth, Osage City, KS 66523.
Gerald “Bill” Coats was one of the first men to volunteer for the Kansas National Guard when President Roosevelt called the Emporia unit into service. He served nearly a year in the Guard, then served an additional four years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II. Coats’ complete obituary ran in Wednesday’s Gazette.