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Coates was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] to Guy, Sr. (1909-1998}, and Winnie L. Coates (1916-1981), who operated a doughnut shop. He had an older sister, Dorothy Coates Talley (1934-2012). Coates graduated from what is now the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]. He worked first for ''The Corpus Christi ([[Texas]]) Caller Times,''  then ''The Shreveport Times,'' and the [[CBS]] television affiliates KNOE in Monroe and KSLA in [[Shreveport]]. He joined the AP in [[New Orleans]] in 1968; five years later he was named the AP bureau chief at the AP's bureau at the state Capitol in [[Baton Rouge]]. He covered the activities of six Louisiana [[governor]], [[Jimmie Davis]], [[John J. McKeithen]], [[Edwin Edwards]], [[David C. Treen]], [[Buddy Roemer]], and [[Mike Foster]].<ref name=obit/>  

Coates was born in [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]] to Guy, Sr. (1909-1998}, and Winnie L. Coates (1916-1981), who operated a doughnut shop. He had an older sister, Dorothy Coates Talley (1934-2012). Coates graduated from what is now the [[University of Louisiana at Monroe]]. He worked first for ''The Corpus Christi ([[Texas]]) Caller Times,''  then ''The Shreveport Times,'' and the [[CBS]] television affiliates KNOE in Monroe and KSLA in [[Shreveport]]. He joined the AP in [[New Orleans]] in 1968; five years later he was named the AP bureau chief at the AP's bureau at the state Capitol in [[Baton Rouge]]. He covered the activities of six Louisiana [[governor]], [[Jimmie Davis]], [[John J. McKeithen]], [[Edwin Edwards]], [[David C. Treen]], [[Buddy Roemer]], and [[Mike Foster]].<ref name=obit/>  

He reported on dozens of legislative sessions and countless political campaigns. He became an expert on Louisiana politics and provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the 1973 convention that led to a new state constitution in 1974. He held public officials accountable with his tough questioning. Former [[United States Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] called Coates "one of Louisiana's finest reporters." In addition to political matters, he reported on a sniper in [[New Orleans]], Hurricane Camille in coastal [[Mississippi]] in 1969, and floods and prison riots. He was a mentor to young reporters, Each week, he published a column on Louisiana politics and government that often featured the homespun observations of a fictional friendhe called "Jethro Rotheschild."<ref name=obit>Guy Coates Obituary (1940 - 2021) - Baton Rouge, LA - The Advocate, accessed May 11, 2021.</ref>Jeremy Alford said that Coates "had cut his teeth during the golden, grizzled age of American journalism. When he was a cub reporter, many of his colleagues stashed a pine (or two) of whiskey in their desks or in their pockets (or both)."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/226801791/earnest-guy-coates|title=Earnest Guy Coates, Jr.|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 13, 2021}}</ref>

He reported on dozens of legislative sessions and countless political campaigns. He became an expert on Louisiana politics and provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of the 1973 convention that led to a new state constitution in 1974. He held public officials accountable with his tough questioning. Former [[United States Senator]] [[Mary Landrieu]], a [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] called Coates "one of Louisiana's finest reporters." In addition to political matters, he reported on a sniper in [[New Orleans]], Hurricane Camille in coastal [[Mississippi]] in 1969, and floods and prison riots. He was a mentor to young reporters, Each week, he published a column on Louisiana politics and government that often featured the homespun observations of a fictional friend that he named "Jethro Rotheschild."<ref name=obit>Guy Coates Obituary (1940 - 2021) - Baton Rouge, LA - The Advocate, accessed May 11, 2021.</ref>Jeremy Alford, the editor and publisher of LaPolitics Weekly and The Tracker, the leading trade publications for elected officials, campaign professionals, and donors in Louisiana, said that Coates "had cut his teeth during the golden, grizzled age of American journalism. When he was a cub reporter, many of his colleagues stashed a pine (or two) of whiskey in their desks or in their pockets (or both)."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/226801791/earnest-guy-coates|title=Earnest Guy Coates, Jr.|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 13, 2021}}</ref>

Coates was married for thirty-nine years until his death to Jonica Coates. He had four children from a previous marriage, Guy Coates, III, Jennifer Anne Coates, and Rebecca Riviello and her husband, Albert Joseph Riviello, all of [[Orlando]], [[Florida]], and Wilma L. Bell and her husband, Timothy of Sugar Hill, [[Georgia]]. He had four grandchildren: Leah, Blaine and Grace Bell and Ryan Riviello. There was no funeral service because his death came near the peak of the [[coronavirus]] pandemic.<ref name=obit/>

Coates was married for thirty-nine years until his death to Jonica Coates. He had four children from a previous marriage, Guy Coates, III, Jennifer Anne Coates, and Rebecca Riviello and her husband, Albert Joseph Riviello, all of [[Orlando]], [[Florida]], and Wilma L. Bell and her husband, Timothy of Sugar Hill, [[Georgia]]. He had four grandchildren: Leah, Blaine and Grace Bell and Ryan Riviello. There was no funeral service because his death came near the peak of the [[coronavirus]] pandemic.<ref name=obit/>

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==References==