Dudley Coates

"Dudley Coates passed away peacefully at home on May 31, 2018.    He was born in Little Rock, Ark., in 1931 to "Billie" and F.M. ("Dud") Coates and began elementary school there.  After his father went into the service during World War II, however, Dudley and his brother Frank were forced to change schools frequently, so his parents decided to enroll Dudley and Frank in Emerson School, a boarding school in Exeter, NH.   They both then attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University.  Dudley graduated from Yale in 1953 and shortly thereafter married Beverly Brown (from Baton Rouge) before being drafted into the army, to serve in the Korean War.  He served proudly until his discharge as a sergeant in 1956 at war's end.  Dudley and his young family moved to Baton Rouge where he worked in the automobile business until joining the New Orleans investment firm, Howard, Weil, Labouisse, Friedrichs, and Company in 1959.  He opened their Baton Rouge office in a tiny one room space in what was then the Louisiana National Bank Building and spent a fifty year career with Howard, Weil and Legg Mason which acquired it.  When he retired in 2009 at the age of 79, he had seen the investment business and the industry change dramatically but his warm and wonderful smile remained his trademark.  Dudley was active in many Baton Rouge civic organizations and played a leadership role in most. Among those for which he served as board president were: Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Capital Area United Way, Episcopal High School, Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge City Club, Louisiana Arts & Science Center, and the Baton Rouge Country Club.  During his life, he also served as a board member of Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Alzheimer's Services, Istrouma Area Council Boy Scouts, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, and others.  He always believed in Baton Rouge's bright future and wanted his family to be a part of it.  And family was the most important thing of all to Dudley.  He is survived and will be dearly missed by his wife of 65 years, Beverly; his daughters Cathy (Brian Hales), Holly Coates Carville, and Camille Coates; grandson, Dudley Gattis (Lindsay); two great grandchildren, Will and Meg Gattis;  his brother Frank Coates, and numerous nieces and nephews.  Preceded in death by son-in-law, Bill Carville. Services will be held at St. James Church in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, June 6.  Visitation begins at 9:30 AM; the funeral is at 11:00 AM with a reception immediately following in the parish hall.  In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (100 North St #900, Baton Rouge, LA 70802), Episcopal High School (3200 Woodland Ridge Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70816), Hilltop Arboretum (11855 Highland Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70810), Companion Animal Alliance (2680 Progress Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70807)  or the charity of your choice.