Robert Lee Coates

Published 12:38 am Wednesday, April 20, 2016

March 25, 1929 – March 31, 2016

Born during the great recession in 1929, Bob was raised in North Topeka, Kansas. His parents, William Paul and Florence, had three boys in addition to Bob: Fred, Bill, and Gary Dale. Bob was raised working in his father’s shoe repair shop in North Topeka, in a time when shoes were repaired rather than thrown away.

He had an indelible memory of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Navy at the age of 14 years old, having “borrowed” his older brother’s birth certificate to enlist. Bob was later recognized as the youngest man to serve on a destroyer escort in WWII, serving on the USS – Engstrom – in the Aleutians and South Pacific.

He returned to North Topeka after being honorably discharged and married the love of his life, Bona Jean Poe, in 1948. The couple survived tough times and left Kansas for Oregon in 1950, where they owned and operated three independent grocery stores in the Portland area. They later enjoyed wintering in Arizona, living on the Oregon Coast and Central Oregon, building and remodeling homes, and enjoying their time together.

Bob lost his wife in 2000 after 51 years of marriage; he leaves behind his children, Robert (son) and Teresa Coates, Lynda (daughter) and Ron Gress, two grandchildren, Tricia and Rob, and one great-grandchild, along with his younger brother, Gary Dale Coates, who resides in Topeka, Kansas.

We will miss you beyond words, Dad, and we hold to the promise that we will see you again.

There will be no service at this time. The family wishes any donations be made in Robert Lee Coates’ name to Partners In Care, Bend, Oregon. – The family wishes to give special thanks to the staff at Cascades of Bend for their care and compassion, as well as Partners In Care Hospice. – God Bless Butch Dugan