Wayne Coates

(June 11, 1943 – Nov. 10, 2024)

Wayne Coates was born to Roy and Hazel Coates in 1943. He married Beverly in 1968 and moved to Canada where he joined the Moose Jaw Police Force and worked later at Kalium Chemicals. In 1975, he and his family moved to Chaplin where he started the family farm. He was pre-deceased by parents, Roy and Hazel, and son Bob Coates, as well as other aunts and uncles. Wayne leaves to mourn his wife Beverly, children Jodi Coates (Darcy Zaretsky) and Krista Blenkin (Mike Blenkin) and daughter-in-law, Claudine Coates. He also leaves to mourn grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Tana and husband Cory Arnott (Makaya and Caiden), Kyla and husband Matthew Helson (Lowen and Livia), Tyler Statham and Cheyenne Rosenau (Saige and Ryder), Mackenzie and husband Brent Ginther (Daelen, Nixon, and Ari), Luke Coates (Brylee), Nolan Coates and Jayne Owchar, and Matthew and Landen Blenkin. He will be missed by siblings, Sharon (Chuck) Hank, Dale (Linda) Coates, and Marilyn Sanders and special uncle Dennis Coates of Calgary as well as many other aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, and friends he made along the way. Grandpa loved his time on the farm and that is how many of us remember him best. He would always take the time to take his grandkids for rides on the quad and to check the cattle in the wagon he built just for us. He was never too busy on the farm to take us on the tractor, to go for a truck ride to check the fields or drive up the grid road north to explore, check the old buildings on the property or play and explore in the quonset. We would end our days with us all having to go in the living room to pound his feet, rub his back and play with his hair after a hard day’s work. Sometimes he would find a “loose screw” that we would have to come back and find the hole where it came from just to get an extra rub of his head! We would then gather around the table and play cards while making sure he didn’t cheat. He was always known for calling us all anything but our names and we loved him for it. When he moved to Moose Jaw, he would keep busy tinkering in the garage and watching CNN and delivering for Greenwood Courier. He also spent time in White City making the trips to see Matthew and Landen and watching their sports. He still liked to sit around the table and play cards, suck on a Werthers and enjoy a Timbit or two. He was always offering a helping hand and made sure that the ladies at the Prairie Oasis got their flyers weekly from the Moose Jaw Express. Grandpa was the strong and silent type – taking everything in around him and putting in his two cents when he could be heard. He will be missed by many, and we are grateful for the memories that we have of him. The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses at the F.H. Wigmore in Moose Jaw, as well as the amazing doctors and nurses in the Cardiac Surveillance Unit at the Regina General Hospital – your special care was appreciated. A private family service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make any donations to STARS Ambulance.  Arrangements are entrusted to Moose Jaw Funeral Home, 268 Mulberry Lane.  Gary McDowell, Funeral Director 306-693-4550