Harry "Christopher" Coates

With heavy hearts, we announce that our beloved Christopher Coates, 80, of Charleston, South Carolina, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his family on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. He was born on January 5, 1945, in Charlotte, NC, the son of the former Mildred Hamilton Coates and Lamar Coates. Chris is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Judith Currie; his devoted daughter, Katie Thompson, son-in-law, Dr. Hugh Edward Thompson and his treasured granddaughters, Charlotte and Emmy Thompson; his beloved sister, Pam Angelus, and her sons Micah and Eric Angelus.

Chris grew up in Charlotte, NC, where he attended West Mecklenburg High School before graduating with a BA in History and a Juris Doctor degree, both from UNC at Chapel Hill. From the moment he left law school, he was determined to make a difference in achieving a fair and just society. Throughout his fifty-year legal career, he achieved that goal. Many of his clients were victims of race, sex, age, religious discrimination, and those whose rights to freedom of speech had been violated. In his ten years at the Voting Rights Project of the ACLU in Atlanta and later in private practice in Milledgeville, Georgia, his litigation changed voting procedures for hundreds of city, county, and school boards so that, for the first time, all races had an equal opportunity to be represented. He litigated and argued a landmark case of this kind before the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1996, he moved to DC to work with and later become the Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

As important as his legal achievements were, he would tell anyone that his time with his family and grandchildren was more important. That part of his life is best described by the following personal tribute of his daughter Katie for her father.

My dear father lived life to the fullest for 80 years and I was very blessed to be his daughter. Chris enjoyed the practice of law for over 50 years. He was always extremely passionate about his work. He loved politics and loved to read biographies. Anyone who knew him well, knew he was never afraid to speak his mind or fight for what he believed in whether those opinions be popular or not.

Chris never met a stranger, he loved hearing other peoples’ stories. He always taught me … you treat the judge and the person who opens the door at the courthouse with the same respect.

Chris loved to dance, especially to beach music. He loved a good hat and a new tie. He worked hard and liked to have fun as well. He traveled many places around the world, but would argue nothing beats the North Carolina mountains in the fall, a beautiful sunset over the Charleston Harbor, and some good southern food.

Chris loved sports. He played sports in high school, but then became an avid Tar Heel fan and later loved a good football game at Sanford Stadium, while living in Georgia, and Williams Brice, when he moved to Charleston. I’m so glad he was able to attend one more Sunday at the Masters last April.

However, when I was young, he became a swim dad and loved watching me compete. But, his favorite teams later in life were his granddaughters’ soccer, volleyball, and swim teams. If he was able, he was there not only cheering for his granddaughters but cheering for everyone and always going up to the player who looked down after a bad game saying his favorite phrase “We will get’em next time.”

But most importantly, Chris loved his family. He loved my mom, his wife of 52 years. He could not have been a better father, and he adored his beloved granddaughters. Whether he was a brother, father-in-law, cousin, uncle or friend, he made such an impact on so many lives. I will miss his sweet smile every day of my life.

We will honor Chris in his hometown on May 3, 2025, at Forest Lawn West Funeral, 4601 Freedom Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina 28208. Visitation will begin at 12:30 pm, the service at 1:30 pm, followed by his burial in nearby Forest Lawn Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude https://www.stjude.org/, or the Wounded Warrior Project https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/