Clydell Wallace Coats, passed away peacefully on November 19 surrounded by her family. Clydell touched the lives of all who knew her with her grace and kindness.
Clydell was born in Burbank, California on July 3, 1932, daughter of the late Clyde and Lorna Wallace. Clydell was raised in Palmdale California. Upon graduating from Antelope Valley High School, she attended Orange Coast College, graduating with an AA degree in Art. It was at this time she met and fell in love with her future husband of 67 years, Guy A. Coats. After a brief courtship, Guy and Clydell were married on November 1, 1953 at the Little Church of the Flowers in Los Angeles California. Guy and Clydell lived in Palmdale for a short time, eventually relocating to Orange County California, where Guy established a successful real estate and development business. They spent the next 10 years raising their 3 children in a home Clydell designed in Tustin.
In 1980, Guy and Clydell moved to Santa Barbara, California. Together, they created a lovely home on a hill overlooking the ocean in The Hope Ranch. They became members of El Montecito Presbyterian Church and made many good friends in the community. In 1990 they moved to Bozeman Montana, spending several years on a cattle ranch in the beautiful Bridger Canyon valley. Their later years together were blessed with family, adventure and travel including time spent in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand where they restored a turn-of-the-century farm house. In 2009 they returned to Santa Barbara, settling in to a home in the Alisal Ranch in Solvang, California.
Clydell was a gifted artist and enjoyed oil and water color painting and creating beautiful homes, gardens and environments. She loved horseback riding from a young age and continued riding into her 80s. She was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and homemaker. Clydell was loved and cherished by her family and by her grandchildren. She spent many hours teaching them to paint and cook and giving them her affection and attention. Clydell was a committed Christian, and she wished to be remembered by her statement of faith, “I loved and trusted my Savior Jesus Christ for my salvation and forgiveness of my sins by his death on the cross.”
Clydell is survived by her beloved husband Guy, and their three children: Guy Wm and wife Ashley, Suellen and husband Scott, and David and wife Kendall. She is also survived by her two siblings Bill Wallace and Susan Hervey as well as her 8 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. There are no immediate plans for a memorial due to COVID 19.
