Evidence of a life well lived is found in those who love you. It is found in how you live your life, your values, and the way that you treat others. Charles Howard Coats “D-dad” truly lived a life well lived. He was loved by many—his family, his church family, and his extended family at the City Market.
To know D-dad was to know that he lived to work hard for his family. He was born in 1934 to Howard and Flonnie Coats with siblings JC Coats, Mary Frances Williams, and Jerry Coats. From an early age, D-dad worked harder than most, plowing fields, raising cattle and hogs, and growing crops. He started out farming corn, beans, and watermelons. At age 14, he started working at the City Market, which eventually became his home away from home. He worked at the market his entire life, retiring at age 85.
In 1953, D-dad met Barbara Clayton “Gran Gran,” the love of his life. After their romance turned into something more, they were married in 1954. Not long after, Terry entered the world, and he learned a lot about hard work by working the farm and the market with D-dad. Family was everything to D-dad, and family meals were a tradition that he and Gran-Gran shared with family and friends far and wide. When Terry got older and started his own family, everyone gathered at D-dad and Gran-Gran’s house every Wednesday and Sunday to share food and listen to D-dad’s stories about “the good ole’ days.”
D-dad worked at the City Market for 71 years where he was loved by many, many people who came to see him as much for his kindness as they did for his produce. D-dad started at the City Market at a time when people still bought their produce at open air farmer’s markets, but his devoted customers stayed loyal to him for years after grocery stores came into fashion. Everyone from the mayor of Raleigh to neighbors down the street would stop by the market on Saturday for some fresh produce and a chat with the produce man.
For his entire life, D-dad was a devout Christian and had a large extended family at Amelia Church. He regularly attended church services and the Sunday school classes that Gran-Gran taught. He was a simple man who worked hard, loved his family, and loved God.
D-dad is survived by his son, Terry Coats and wife, Bebe; grand-daughter, Casey Hardin and husband, Milo; great-granddaughter, Adelyne Grayce; grandson, Hunter Coats and Marley Ranew; brother, Jerry Coats and wife, Phyllis and sister, Mary Frances Williams.
