Orville A. Coats, born January 18, 1919 in Cleveland, Oklahoma, passed away on July 6, 2010 following a short illness at Willamette View Retirement Community in Portland, Oregon.
His early years were in Cleveland graduating from high school in 1935. He graduated from Oklahoma City University in 1941 and continued at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey. In 1947 he was ordained a United Methodist minister.
He served United Methodist churches in New Jersey, Oklahoma, Idaho, Oregon and California. His Oregon parishes were in Ontario, Albany, Montavilla in Portland, and Faith in Troutdale.
In 1951 he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army and he served in Korea as Division Artillery Chaplain for the Second Infantry Division.
Coats was very active in Heifer International and Habitat for Humanity. In 1960 he took 20 heifers to the island of Hokkaido, Japan. He served as president of the Portland affiliate of Habitat for Humanity when they built their first house in Portland in 1985.
He married Madeline Webster of Old Bridge, New Jersey in 1944 and she was his life companion until her death in 2007. He is survived by his daughters Donna Lindsay of San Mateo, California, Deborah Payn of Florence, Oregon and Elaine Drake of Loveland, Colorado along with 6 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
A Service of Remembrance will be held Friday, July 23 at the Montavilla United Methodist Church at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Heifer International or Habitat for Humanity. | 
