COATES, Ella L.

Funeral services for Ella Lahoma Coates, 64, Lawton, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, at First Baptist East with Pastor Danny El Kouri of Word Alive Church, Lawton, Pastor Nick Lovenburg, of Freedom Church, Lawton and Pastor Randy Sullivan, Duncan officiating. Mrs. Coates died Tuesday at her home after a short courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by her loved ones. Burial will be in the Duncan City Cemetery, under direction of Becker Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. She was born Sept. 9, 1945 in Duncan, to Grady and Lena (Rains) Coates. She was baptized at 12 years of age at the Westside Christian Church in Duncan. She graduated from Duncan High School in 1963. She received her teaching degree from the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts and was Vice-President of the OCLA chapter of Student Education Association for the 1966-1967 college year. She taught in Lawton Public Schools for more than 35 years, and also taught Adult GED and English as a second language courses. She taught at Taft, Sullivan Village, Central Junior High and most recently at Gateway. Names she taught under were Coates, Herbert, Seidel and Mayes. She was a member of the OETA, and was a member of the Word Alive Church where she gave her all to her faith and donated to too many charities to mention. Ella enjoyed the Wichita mountains sunsets and taking friends and relatives for a Meer's burger each time they visited. She was very proud of being an Oklahoman. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Donzi Herbert-Boyett and Chris of Springtown, Texas; two sisters, Sherry Wilson and husband, Jaron of Weatherford, Texas; Karen Sue Coates of Dallas, Texas; brother, John Coates and wife, Patty of Midwest City; sister-in-law, Karen Anne Coates of Fort Worth, Texas; two grandchildren, Brady and Kelly Boyett of Springtown, Texas and numerous other relatives and friends.She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, Frank Coates and Grady Coates, Jr. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ella Coates Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Lawton Public Schools, PO Box 1009 Lawton, OK 73502 or to Hospice of Southwest Oklahoma, PO Box 2074 Lawton, OK 73502.