Essie Voncile "Bunny" Coats Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Essie Voncile “Bunny” Coats was born on November 28, 1934, in Raleigh, Mississippi. She passed away peacefully in her sleep early in the morning on July 14, 2022. While still in high school, Voncile worked at Whitfield State Hospital, serving as part of the kitchen staff, as a file clerk, and as a dental assistant. After her 1952 graduation from Raleigh High School, she worked at the GE plant in Jackson. While she was there, one of her cousins introduced her to Thomas Coats, the man she married. Her military husband was deployed to many locations, and before his retirement, Voncile lived in Ogden, Utah; Greenville, Mississippi; Albany, Georgia; La Junta, Colorado; and Ankara, Turkey. During those years she was a stay-at-home mother for her three sons. After her husband’s retirement, she worked at both the Smith County Reformer newspaper in Raleigh and (for many years) at the Northern Electric Company (NECO) in Laurel. Starting in the 1980s, Voncile and Thomas greatly enjoyed the opportunity to travel frequently to Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Wyoming, Louisiana, and California to visit their grandchildren. She was an excellent cook, and her grandchildren especially enjoyed her fried chicken. Voncile was preceded in death by her parents Henry and Irene Crain of Raleigh, Mississippi; by her sisters Sarah Sullivan and Brenda Crain and her brother Bob Henry Crain (all of Raleigh, Mississippi); by her husband Thomas Coats of Gitano, Mississippi; and by her great-grandson Davis Michael Dunavent of Shreveport, Louisiana. She is survived by her brother James David Crain and his wife Hilda of Forest, Mississippi; and by her sons and their wives: Daryl and Victoria Coats of Gitano, Mississippi; Danny and Sharon Coats of Hattiesburg, Mississippi; and Dwayne and Michele Coats of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She is also survived by her eighteen grandchildren; thirteen of her great-grandchildren; and a host of cousins, nephews, nieces, and other family. Funeral services will be held at Memory Chapel Funeral Home in Laurel, Mississippi on Monday, July 18, 2022 with visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. and the service at 10:00 a.m. Bro. Robbie White (Old Antioch Baptist Church, Soso, Mississippi) will officiate. Voncile’s grandchildren will serve as her pallbearers. Burial will follow in the Coats Cemetery in the Gitano community. Voncile’s family thanks the staff of LynnWood Senior Care in Laurel for their kindness and greatly appreciates the assistance they provided her. To sign the online guest book, visit www.memorychapellaurel.com.

Essie Voncile "Bunny" Coats

November 28, 1934 - July 14, 2022