Doug was survived by his devoted wife, Linda; children, Sandee Coats-Haan (Steve) and Rob Coats; his stepchildren, Angie Davidson and Michael Moore (Toscha); and grandchildren, Zach, Jake, Kitty, Cash, Makenna, Maklain, Parker, Preston and Mollie.
He was born at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, on July 6th 1940, to the late Harry Paschal Coats and Virginia Ethelyn Bond Coats. After the untimely death of his father in 1941, he spent the school years with his mother’s family in Elberton, GA and summers with his father’s family in the East Point area of Atlanta. He always felt that growing up in the rural area (Elberton) and the city (East Point) made him feel at ease in either town or country, and ultimately led him to his adopted hometown, the suburban, Douglasville.
Doug graduated from Elberton High School in 1958 and later attended both Berry College and Georgia State College, earning a degree in accounting at the latter, and then receiving his Certified Public Accounting Certificate. While at Berry, he met his first wife, Jean Cox Coats, who predeceased him in 1993.
Early in his career, he took an accounting position with Tom Cousins of Cousins Properties and discovered his true passionate vocation of residential real estate development. Over a career that spanned 50 years, he was the proudest of his involvement in the two developments located in Douglasville, the communities of Chapel Hills and Mirror Lake.
He was a longtime member and Deacon of the First Baptist Church of Douglasville. Baptist was his first faith, but sports was nearly an equal devotion, as ever the optimist, he was a proud fan of the Atlanta Braves, Falcons and Hawks, as well as being a huge fan of Georgia Tech athletics. Additionally, he coached youth league football, basketball and baseball for many years. He was most proud of his 1979 Douglasville Tiger Cub youth National Football Championship team.
A visitation will be held Wednesday, November 16th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held in the Rosehaven Chapel at 2:00pm following the visitation. The burial will follow at Rosehaven Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in his name to the American Cancer Society. 1825 Barrett Lakes Boulevard, Suite 280, Kennesaw, GA 30144, www.cancer.org
Those who wish to express condolences or share a special memory may do so online at www.whitleygarner.com
Arrangements by: Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home, Douglasville, GA 30134, 770-942-4246
