William “Bill” Charles Coats

May 22, 1935 - December 29, 2023

Bill passed away peacefully at home on December 29, 2023 at the age of 88. Bill was born in Streator, IL in 1935 to Charles and Mary Coats. He grew up in the farm country of central Illinois. He met his wife Gretchen at Chillicothe High School. They were high school sweethearts and spent a beautiful 70 years together. They had three children. Bill worked for Caterpillar where he worked his way up to traveling the world for them as an engineer. He was an avid sailor and loved his time spent sailing with friends at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club (except the time the motor fell off and sunk to the bottom of the river!) He also had many adventures on the water yachting around Florida. 

Bill always fancied himself as an amateur architect. He was interested in home designs and was always working on floor plans. He proudly designed and built five homes including two beach homes in Gulf Shores, AL in 1978. Hurricane Frederic wiped them out the following year, but they were quickly rebuilt. He retired in 1997 from Caterpillar after 43 years and moved down to the Alabama Gulf Coast full time and built a beautiful home on the intercoastal in Orange Beach. He moved to Fairhope in 2016 when it was time to downsize. 

He was quite a singer and had a love of Jazz. His friends referred to him as “Singin’ Sam.” He was an avid runner, cycler, and swimmer, taking morning runs and weekend bike rides through the countryside of Illinois and swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. He loved sailing the “Spindrift”’ and reading. Bill loved traveling and exploring the country and Europe and was lucky enough to have seen so many amazing places. He was a big St. Louis Cardinals fan and raised us all to cheer for the Redbirds.

He is survived by his wife Gretchen; three children Steve, Cindy, and John (Susan); his grandchildren Josh and Rachelle (Brandon); and three great-grandchildren Kit, Brody, and Jaimeson.