COATE, Robert (Bob) Leroy ^{1 2 3 4 5}

  General Notes:

Bob was born in Middletown and raised in Trenton, Ohio.

Bob was remembered by his brother Richard as the "true diplomat of the family. ... he was gentle by nature, and slow to anger. A shrewd business man, he started out in the floor sanding business, but moved to Columbus to go into the home building business. Achieving great success in a short time, he was highly respected by a vast array of friends and business acquaintances.

As a boy scout he was elected to join a throng of scouts in a trip to Washington where they would have been greeted by President Roosevelt. The trip was canceled, however, due to a polio outbreak. Bob loved to raise chickens and ducks. When we were kids, Dad constructed a pond in the side yard. What's a pond without ducks? So Bob began raising them to fill the void. We all enjoyed them. However, I'm sure Bob never forgot the day I roasted a couple of his duckling in the oven. A pre-schooler, my attention span was not all that great. I'd exhausted the poor little things in the pond. Having witnessed what Bob did with the duckling shortly after they were hatched I decided I'd do the same thing to dry them out. I still remember Bob's surprise and outrage at what I'd done. However, given my age and remorse for what I'd done, I was forgiven. ...I never went near his ducklings after that! ...

He married Mary Musselman, his high school sweetheart. Though he was drafted, his tour of duty in the army in World War II was foreshortened due to Mary's health. They were surely proud parents of Caroline and Donny. Caroline, as you know died shortly after her father passed. One thing Betty and I recall with fond memories - Warren and Bob bought a farm somewhere northeast of Columbus. Warren could tell you where it was located. The pre-Civil war log house was situated on 165 acres of pure bliss. The Coate family used it for reunions until it was sold. So when I look at the photo of the farmhouse, I'm always reminded of the good times! You probably remember it!" With great fondness, I and my uncles and family that met there on many occasions certainly do remember it.

According to Bob's brothers, Warren and Richard, Bob's death was due to a reaction to the type of anesthesia that was administered during a gall bladder surgery compounded by previous reactions to his recent dental surgery. His liver was not able to process all of it. (C-1782) ⁶

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation. Home-Builder

Robert married Mary Jane MUSSELMAN, daughter of Floyd MUSSELMAN and Hilda Grace MEHL, on Sep 3, 1938 in Covington, Kenton, KY, USA. (Mary Jane MUSSELMAN was born on Feb 26, 1920 in Middletown, Butler, OH, USA, died on Jul 19, 1997 in Fort Myers, Lee, FL, USA and was buried on Jul 26, 1997 in Reynoldsburg, Franklin, OH, USA.)