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Orville Coats, the First Board President of Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East Passed Away July 6, 2010


Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East would like to recognize the leadership of Mr. Coats in the early days of our local affiliate. Our thoughts are with the Coats family.
Coats, Orville A. 91 01/18/1919 07/06/2010
Orville A. Coats was born Jan. 18, 1919, in Cleveland, Okla., and passed away July 6, 2010, at Willamette View Retirement Community in Portland following a short illness. His early years were in Cleveland, where he graduated from high school in 1935. He graduated from Oklahoma City University in 1941 and continued at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, N.J. 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 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, N.J., in 1944 and she was his life companion until her death in 2007. He is survived by his daughters, Donna Lindsay of San Mateo, Calif.; Deborah Payn of Florence; and Elaine Drake of Loveland, Colo.; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. A service of remembrance will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, July 23, 2010, in Montavilla United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Heifer International or Habitat for Humanity.

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