Margaret Ann Coates (Morgan), born March 3rd, 1931 in Shavertown, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on October 25th, 2023 with her husband of 71 years by her side.
Marge attended Miseracordia College, getting her BA in Home Economics. She married Bill, had their first child Cathy while living in a trailer home in Pennsylvania. This is where Bill famously got Marge pregnant again, bought her a dog and left them to go to Alaska to participate in the Korean War. After the War Bill and Marge both began working at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft and moved their young family to Bolton, Connecticut and then nearby Coventry, where they remained until retirement. Once their three children were in school Marge began teaching 6th grade at the Captain Nathan Hale Middle School in Coventry, a job she held for the rest of her professional career. Marge loved teaching and the people she worked with. She told stories about this time in her life forever.
As their children got older and got into sports Marge took up both tennis and skiing, two activities that the entire family did together. Skiing and tennis would become lifelong activities for Marge, partly because they allowed her to add to her burgeoning wardrobe every season. As a child Marge was kept from sports because of a heart condition but more than made up for it as an adult. She never truly excelled at either sport but loved being together with her family. She also enjoyed camping with the family every summer, once spending the entire summer with the kids at Rocky Neck Park while Bill worked. Don’t be too impressed, she had no idea where the three of us were at any time.
Marge also served bravely as the family navigator when Bill became a private pilot and purchased a small plane that brought their family back and forth to Pennsylvania for many family visits and trips to Block Island.
Upon retiring, Marge and Bill moved to Naples Bath and Tennis, a tennis community in Naples, Florida. They made many new friends who they spent much time playing tennis and socializing with for more than 10 years. During this time they traveled abroad on a few occasions, traveling through Europe, something that Marge always wanted to do.
After this she and Bill moved up to Cumberland, Maine to spend time with their youngest daughter and her family. They remained in Maine for roughly 10 years before moving back to Lady Lake, Florida for a couple of years before moving back to Rocky Hill, Connecticut in 2020.
Marge enjoyed skiing, tennis, knitting, the Boston Red Sox, dancing, swing jazz, flirting, dressing up, acting in local theater, doing the New York Times crossword puzzle in ink, driving fast and cooking badly (although her Holiday Cookes were legendary). Marge was the original clothes horse. She bought so much clothes from one retailer that they felt obliged to put her in a fashion show which she pulled off with class like only she could. She also loved Apple computers and all of the related devices. In one of her attempts to keep the family connected she created a family newsletter which she named “High Times”. All of us younger folks loved the name. Marge had a great sense of humor, an unfailing gift of gab and the ability to talk forever and never finish a thought all the way to the end.
Marge is survived by her husband Bill Coates, her daughter, Cathy Rothfeld, her son, Chris Coates, and his wife Margaret, eight grandchildren, Parker Swenson (Phoebe), Katie Rollo (Jeff), Phoebe Kling (Sam), Libby Rothfeld, Evan Rothfeld, Morgan Curry, Ryan Coates (Hillary) and John Coates (Mairin). Two great-grandchildren, Rowan Curry and Maeve Curry. She is predeceased by her daughter Beth Ann Coates.