John Thurber Coates, age 93, a long-time resident of Natick, died on Christmas Eve, 2018.
Born in Valparaiso, Chile, his family later moved to Cuba where he lived in Havana for two years under the pre-Castro Batista regime. Returning to the family home in Bloomfield, New Jersey, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 17 and served in WWII with the Third Marine Air Wing. Upon discharge, he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Boston University.
He and his beloved wife Elizabeth were married for 62 years prior to her death on Christmas Eve, 2016. They traveled widely and visited all 50 states plus every major continent.
He was active in Natick’s community life, volunteering at the Morse Institute Library, the Audubon Broadmoor Sanctuary, and the Natick Food Pantry. He read for the blind, taught reading through the Literacy Volunteers of America and, with Elizabeth, for many years delivered Meals on Wheels. For nine years, he volunteered at Norfolk State Prison. He also interviewed veterans for the Morse Institute Library’s Veterans’ Oral History Program. In 2010, he was honored to be named Natick’s Senior Man of the Year.
Professionally, he served as a writer. He was Staff Copy and Production Editor at Better Homes and Gardens in Des Moines, Iowa. In Boston, he was named Editor of the New Englander Magazine. Prior to retiring, he was employed for 20 years at the John Hancock Company, where as Director of Communications Services, he was responsible for the company’s internal communications. He also wrote and published an extensive series of articles on history and travel for the Tab newspapers.
An ardent birder, he enjoyed early morning walks and welcomed each day as a personal invitation to participate in the natural world as it awoke around him.
John was pre-deceased by his sister Merridy Ayer. He will be greatly missed for his quick wit, insatiable curiosity, compassion, and kindness by his daughter Victoria Coates, his son-in-law Alec Danz, and his grandchildren Jeremy Coates Danz and Rachel Elizabeth Danz.
Gifts in his memory may be made to Doctors Without Borders.