Obituary of Barbara (Bobbie) Coats-Wondrasch

Funeral services for Barbara (Bobbie) Coats-Wondrasch, age 96, of Mer Rouge, LA and Asheville, NC will be held Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 11 o’clock a.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Mer Rouge, LA with Fr. Whit Stodghill and Rev. Dawnell Stodghill officiating. A reception for friends and family will be held following the service at the church Parish Hall. Private family interment to follow at Christ Church Cemetery in Bastrop, LA under the direction of Golden Funeral Home, Bastrop, LA. Bobbie was born December 11, 1929, in Newark, New Jersey and died on January 22, 2026, in Asheville, NC at 96 years of age. She came to Louisiana in 1943 and graduated from Metairie High School in New Orleans, LA in 1947. Bobbie attended Sophie Newcomb College and LSU Baton Rouge. In 1953 she came to Morehouse Parish with her husband, Dr. John M. Coats, IV to begin his medical practice in Mer Rouge, LA. After attaining a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree and 30 plus hours in Elementary Education from Northeast Louisiana University, she taught school in Morehouse Parish and was employed at the Central Office of the Morehouse Parish School Board for many years. She was an exemplary teacher, loved and respected by her students. A devoted member of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, St. Giles Chapel at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community in Asheville, NC, and Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Chestertown, NY, she served as a Lay Reader and Chalice Bearer at all three churches. At St. Andrew’s, she served as Sunday School teacher, was President of the Episcopal Church Women, was a member of the Altar Guild and was the first woman elected to serve on the Vestry. Active with the Girl Scouts Silver Waters Council, now Girl Scouts of Louisiana, she was the Pines to The Gulf Board President for two terms, Chairman of the Sustaining Membership Drive for Morehouse Parish from 1985-1989 and was instrumental in implementing the Planned Giving Program for the council. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, Retired Teacher’s Association, Potpourri Study Club and sang in the Deerfield Chorus. Her greatest joy was being with her family and friends. She will be remembered for her happy outlook on life and her infectious smile. Bobbie was preceded in death by her husband of 33 years, Dr. John M. Coats, IV, her parents, Gerardus and Dorothy E. Fischer van Loon, her brother, Jan Thomas van Loon, stepdaughter, Tammy Hochrein, and her grandson, Duncan McRae Jones. She married Francis (Frank) Wondrasch in 1995, who passed away four days after her death. She is survived by her children, Dr. Shelley Coats Jones and her husband Jerry, of Mer Rouge, LA, Dr. John M. Coats V and wife Becky of Mer Rouge, LA, Thomas G. Coats and DeAnne Garrelts of Missouri City, TX, and Christopher L. Coats and wife Paule` of Baton Rouge, LA. Stepchildren are Craig Wondrasch and wife Linda of Bluffton, SC, Stacy Schnabl of Binghamton, NY, Kara Sander and husband Pete of Schroon Lake, NY and Raymond Hochrein and Robin Weldon of New Milford, CT. Grandchildren are Mary Larkin Jones, Erin Coats Brown (Joey), Triston Coats, John Fox Coats (Tori), Catherine Coats, Willem Coats and Dr. Camille Coats Willis (Christian). Step-grandchildren are Blake and Gage (Caitlyn) Wondrasch, Karl (Megan) and Brian (Kayla) Schnabl, Matthew, Joseph (Lily) and Nicholas (Keri) Hochrein and Peter Sander and Jessica Sander Church (James). Great-grandchildren are Payton and Ella Brown, Jones Adams, Wren and Fox McRae Coats, Harrison, Dean, Roman, and Sullivan Willis. Step-greatgrandchildren are Quinn Schnabl and Noah Hochrein. She is also survived by one sister, Emily van Loon (Thom Wolf) of Takoma Park MD and one brother, Rick van Loon (Sandy) of Bastrop, LA and sister-in-law Susan van Loon of New Orleans, LA. Her nephews are Elliott Wolf (Sara) and Nick Wolf (Ruthie), nieces, Lauren Romanauskas (Alex) and Emily van Loon, great-nephews, Henry Wolf and Marc Wolf, Gabriel and Rowan Romanauskas and great-nieces, Grace Prince and Annika Romanauskas. Honorary pallbearers will be grandsons and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Deerfield Residency Fund, 1617 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville, NC 28803 and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 65, Mer Rouge, LA 71261.