Joann Merrell Coats of Harwich passed away peacefully Saturday, February 13th at the Wingate at Harwich Nursing Home. She was 88.
Joann was born on April 28, 1932 in Provincetown, where she was raised and spent most of her life. She married the late Jerrold V. Coats on April 15, 1952 in St Peter the Apostle Church, surrounded by her loving family. Joann was an excellent homemaker and a passionate cook and baker. Her hospitality was legendary among family and friends.
She cooked summers at the Provincetown Dairy Queen for thirty-five years for owner David Silva. She then baked at the Red Inn for David after he sold the Dairy Queen. Her career continued as a baker for 10 years at the Red Inn, where her famous chocolate chip cookies, a staple on the pillows of guests, led to a featured column in Yankee Magazine.
She was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary, Lewis A. Young Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Joann is survived by her loving daughters Jody Joseph, Rhonda and her husband Kenneth Corse MD, and loving son Eric Coats and his wife Judy. She has been blessed with many wonderful grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends, especially her childhood friend, Dotty Adams. She was predeceased by a son, Glen Coats.
Because of the COVID restrictions, Joann will be interred next to her husband in a private family service at St Peters Cemetery, Provincetown. A Celebration of her Life will be held in the future, when it is deemed safe to do so.
Memorial donations in Joann’s name may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.