Gwen Coats

Gwendolyn Crawford Coats, longtime Chico area resident, died on April 21, 2012, just two weeks shy of her 90th birthday. Healthy and active until the very end, her final journey began during a week of preparations for the milestone birthday celebration. Her three daughters were all with her when she fell ill. She refused to be hospitalized, and died at peace in her own bed. She was surrounded with people and things she loved......her children, family photos, blooming flowers, shafts of sunlight, pretty music, even a bird choir outside the window. Those images are the right ending to a lifetime shaped by gentleness, beauty, and family. Gwen was born May 5, 1922 in Elkhorn, Manitoba, Canada, one of 5 children of William E. and Elsa Bergstrom Crawford. She was four when her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where her parents became civic leaders in their adopted hometown of McAllen. They gave her, she in turn gave her own children, a childhood that was traditional and gracious, always fun and lively and full of kids, friends, horses, dogs, and gatherings to mark just about any occasion. During junior college, the increasingly beautiful Gwen discovered she had a flair for acting, so she went off to Southern California to study at the Pasadena Playhouse. That led to discovery by Hollywood talent scouts, and eventually to a movie-studio contract. She appeared in some 8 wartime films, most notable of which was The Bells of St. Mary's. Her movie career ended and her real career started when she married Dr. William Coats, a fellow Texan in Los Angeles doing his medical residency. The two of them spent the next 60 years together, as he practiced in both Texas and California. They moved to the Chico area in the early 70's. Other than during her movie years, Gwen never worked outside the home. She was part of the greatest generation of moms, who saw husband, children, house, friends, and volunteer work as their life's mission. She adored her kids and later her grandchildren, her bridge groups, the Cosmos Club, and golfing at the Butte Creek Country Club, charity work, and her church. Most recently, Gwen enjoyed her life, her friends, and her caregivers at The Courtyard at Little Chico Creek. She is survived by her daughters, Connie Andrusaitis of Durham, husband Ged and children, Jessica and Daniel; Dr. Carol Coats of Minden Nevada, husband Dave Wasick and sons, Tyler, David, and Billy; and Kathryn Dillon of San Marcos, Texas, husband Mike and children, Sarah, Tatiana, and Alex. Her sister, Marilyn Moffitt and lifelong friend, Doris Parker top the list of dozens of surviving Texas relatives. Bill Coats died in 2008; Gwen's parents and brothers some years before that. Memorial services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, 2012 in the Chapel of Brusie Funeral Home. Donations may be made in her memory to Bidwell Presbyterian Church.