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F. Ramsey Coates

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F. Ramsey Coates, 72, of McMurray, died peacefully Friday, June 1, 2018, following a two-year struggle with cancer. He was surrounded by his closest family.

Ramsey was born May 8, 1946, in St. Louis, Mo., to Frank R. Coates and Evelyn Millard Coates. He spent his youth in St. Louis with his parents, brother Jeff and a large family of aunts, uncles and cousins. Ramsey attended Missouri Military Academy in junior high and graduated from Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School in St. Louis in 1964.

Ramsey earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1968 from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., where he majored in political science, played quarterback for the Earlham “Fighting Quakers” football team and developed many life-long friendships. During two college summers, he participated in the Marine Corps Platoon Leader Course at Quantico, Va. He met his wife, Gail, who also attended Earlham, while on foreign study in England in spring 1967. They were married August 31, 1968, and mark their 50th wedding anniversary this year. Ramsey went on to obtain his Juris Doctor from Ohio State University School of Law, Summa Cum Laude, in 1971.

He began his legal career with the firm of Baker, Hostetler and Patterson in Cleveland, Ohio, where Gail gave birth to their two daughters. In 1976, Ramsey joined Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Pittsburgh to pursue his passion for international law. In 1978, he was appointed counsel for Europe, residing in Brussels, Belgium, with his family for two years and, later, became chief counsel for Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He assumed a variety of other leadership roles for Westinghouse activities over his dedicated career, culminating in his promotion in 1997 to senior vice president and general counsel of Westinghouse Legal, a position he held until his retirement in 2011.

Throughout his life, Ramsey was deeply devoted to Gail, his family and his friends. He was very active in his church and community and served on a variety of nonprofit boards. He was intellectually inquisitive, read extensively and embraced a lifetime of learning. He enjoyed golf, running (including the Great Race with his brother and the Marine Corps marathon), good wine, biking, music and travel. Throughout his life, he treasured the beauty and calm of his home in the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania. Upon retiring in 2011, he and Gail acquired a second home on a lake in New York’s Hudson Valley, which enabled them to spend time with their children and grandchildren, explore a new pastoral setting and entertain beloved family and friends.

Ramsey’s warmth, charm, sense of humor, integrity, generosity and loving nature endeared him to people from all walks of life, worldwide. He will be dearly, dearly missed.

Ramsey is survived by his wife, Gail Dagger Coates; daughter Jennifer Clinton Coates with husband Joshua Das and their son, Gabriel Ramsey Das (nine months); daughter Emily Carson Coates with husband William Orzo and their daughter, Eulalia Violet Coates Orzo (three years); brother Jeffrey Clinton Coates; and many loving nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters-in law and cousins.

A memorial service will be held to honor and celebrate his life at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 9, in Trinity United Methodist Church, 530 Center Church Road, McMurray, PA 15317. Interment will be private.

Contributions in Ramsey’s memory may be made to: The Center for International Legal Studies at Pitt Law School: http://law.pitt.edu/academics/cile; Trinity United Methodist Church of McMurray: http://www.trinitymcmurrayumc.com/; or The Hillman Cancer Center: http://hillman.upmc.com/difference/supporting.

Add or view tributes at www.beinhauer.com.

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