William H. Coats

SERVICES: Vigil will be at 6:30 PM, Monday, Aug. 9, 2010, in Carmichael-Whatley Colonial Chapel. Services will be at 2:00 PM Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010 in Carmichael-Whatley Colonial Chapel with Rev. Joseph Ravi, associate pastor of St. Vincent dePaul Catholic Church, officiating.BURIAL: Memory Gardens Cemetery with military honors by the U. S. Marine Corps.BIOGRAPHY: Mr. Coats was born February 26, 1926 in Chunky, Mississippi where he attended schools. He joined the U. S. Marine Corps at the age of 17 and served during World War II in the Pacific Theatre and he was honorably discharged as a corporal. He married Janet Murphy on May 6, 1951 in Downey, California, and the marriage was blessed by the Catholic Church in Natchitoches, Louisiana in April of 1952. Bill worked for River Construction in Fort Worth, laying pipeline for 20 years, and later worked for Transwestern Pipeline for 20 years, retiring in 1985. He had been a resident of Pampa since 1974, moving from Laverne, Oklahoma. Bill was an avid hunter and fisherman and was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. He was a loving husband and a wonderful father and grandfather. SURVIVORS: wife: Janet Coats of the home; 2 sons: Patrick Coats and wife Janette of White Deer and Bradley Coats and wife Jeri of Holton, Kansas; 2 daughters: Kathy Schoenrock and husband Jerrel, and Patricia Coats, all of Pampa; 2 sisters: Lela Graham of Alexandria, Louisiana, and Colleen Neilson and husband Paul of Zachary, Louisiana; 12 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents: Simon and Mattie Coats; a son: John Michael Coats; a brother: Robert Coats; and a grandson: Kristofer Coats.MEMORIALS: St. Vincent dePaul Catholic Church, 810 W. 23rd, Pampa, Texas 79065, or American Heart Association, 2514 82nd Street, Suite B, Lubbock, Texas 79423.