Notes for: Mary Alice Bodine
From Ronny Bodine:
The marriage of Eugene Coats and Mary Alice Bodine at the North Temple Baptist Church in Dallas was reported in the Dallas Morning News of 16 June 1942.
Obituary, Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram of 2 June 2007.
DALWORTHINGTON GARDENS -- Robert Eugene Coats was a familiar sight at Mission Arlington, City Hall and nearly anywhere else that people needed a hand. The former Dalworthington Gardens mayor dedicated his life to family but always found time for his community, friends and relatives recalled. "My dad, even though he was a very quiet man, was always patriotic and very civic-minded," said Francine Squyers, one of his three daughters. "His life was about service to others. He's a very strong, Christian man, there's no denying that. That's how everybody knew him." Mr. Coats died of cancer Wednesday at 83. He was diagnosed a month ago, after a period of mysterious weight loss, his family said. Mr. Coats was an energetic volunteer for city government and other services. "He would come real often and bring us rice and beans to give away," said Tillie Bergin, executive director of Mission Arlington. "He'd buy those 25- to 50-pound bags, and it wasn't anything for him to lift them and get them into the pantry." He served two terms as mayor from 1972 to 1976, and later served on the Planning and Zoning Commission and worked on various city committees and projects. You could call on him anytime to do anything, and he would do it," said former Mayor Al Taub, who was first elected in 1986 and served 20 years. Mr. Coats was born Sept. 14, 1923, in Coppell and graduated from Carrollton High School. He served in the Army Air Forces as a navigation system technician, then worked 35 years for the Vought Corp., a defense contractor, retiring in 1987. He and Mary Alice Coats, his wife of nearly 65 years -- their anniversary would have been June 13 -- volunteered for 14 years at the Arlington Night Shelter and helped at Mission Arlington's Christmas store and Fielder Road Baptist Church. He taught Sunday school for 50 years. Mr. Coats was preceded in death by his son, Dr. Robert Eugene Coats Jr. He is survived by his wife; daughters Pam Coats, Charlene Anders and Francine Squyers, all of Arlington; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Services: Visitation: 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Moore Funeral Home, 4216 S. Bowen Road, Arlington. Funeral: 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Fielder Road Baptist Church, 2011 S. Fielder Road, Arlington. Burial: Moore Memorial Gardens, Arlington.
Obituary Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram of 8 March 2017
MARY ALICE COATS December 19, 1923 - March 1, 2017
Mary Alice Bodine Coats, 93, a fun loving mother, wife, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away March 1, 2017. Mary Alice was born in Jacksonville TX in 1923. She graduated from Carrollton High School where she met and married her sweetheart of 65 years, Gene Coats. Mary Alice was a floral designer and had a custom wedding business with partner Ruby Beard for 30 years. She and Gene raised 4 children and traveled the world collecting rocks and shells. She was a Sunday school teacher working with young people at Woods Chapel and Fielder Road Baptist Church for many years. She was a dedicated Christian who spent much of her time serving others. She volunteered at Mission Arlington, working the Christmas store and telling the Christmas Story to the children, as well as telling the Passion story in the spring on the Easter Holiday for many years. She also entertained adults in her Sunday school and Triple L group with many fun crazy programs. She always loved to laugh, joke, and play. She is preceded in death by her husband Robert Eugene Coats, and children Robert E. Coats Jr., and Charlene Coats Anders. She is survived by daughters Francine and Husband Richard Squyers, and Pam Coats, grandchildren Amy and Andrew Pryor, Candiss and Levi Smith, Cody and Jill Anders, Russell Squyers, Charlie Squyers and fiancé Jennifer Roseberry, and nine great-grandchildren.
Children: Robert Eugene Jr. (1946), Pamela Jean (1949), Charlene (1951), Francine (1951).