Fern Irene Coates

Fern Irene (Hubsmith) Coates was born on May 5, 1926 to Fred and Irene (Grenfell) Hubsmith, in Bellevue, Idaho. She left this world peacefully on August 21, 2020 in Twin Falls. She grew up in Southern Idaho, and after meeting him on a double date, married Charles (Burl) Coates in 1945 in Twin Falls. They were married for 74 years and never got tired of holding each others hand. When asked what the secret to their marriage was, they said they loved to laugh together, and there was a lot of laughter to be found in their home. Fernie always took care of the people around her; caring for her five younger siblings as she was growing up, caring for her family, grandchildren, great- grandchildren, and all the many friends and family members who were blessed to know her. She never met someone who wasn't her friend, and she had a special place in her heart for kids. She knew just how to make kids feel ten feet tall. Even in her 90s she would get right down on the floor and play with plastic horses and cows and zoom cars around when young friends and great-grandchildren came to visit. Fernie was not one to let the grass grow under her feet. No sooner would she sit down than she was up again because she had spotted some thing that needed doing. Burl would chuckle and say;Go Fernie, Go;. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Burl, and siblings Marjorie, Jack, and Ray. She is survived by her children: Karen Fields, Charles Coates (Sandy), Fredrick Coates (Joan), and LoAnne Zetkka; her siblings Earl and Sharon; grandchildren: Steven Fields, Roger Fields, Sarah Huggins, Nelson Coates, and Tami Anderson-Petty; ten great-grandchildren: Julianna, Bradley, Cierra, Abigail, Hagen, Copen, Una, Charles, Phoebe and Sophie; Several nieces and nephews. She loved as family her neighbors Jerry and Nola, Larry and Dana and Shanyn, Maytie, JT, Jesica and Gus. Fernie was the definition of elegance in her blue jeans, and she lived with humor, grace, and compassion. Her passing is deeply mourned by those she left behind. They take comfort in the thought that she is with her sweetheart Burl once more, the two of them up on the rolling hills of Carey near where they first ran bands of sheep a lifetime ago. Suggested donations in his memory to The Idaho Community Foundation: The Fund for Joe’s Kids – 1998. Created by the family and friends of the late Joe Cenarrusa, this fund ensures that the children's programs he championed would be continued in perpetuity.